William "Bill" John, age 87, of Cushing, MN, formerly Mahnomen MN, died Wednesday, July 29, 2009, at his home under the care of Hospice.

William was born October 24, 1921 in Browerville, MN, the son of Peter and Frances (Bartylla) John. He grew up and attended school near there. After spending four years serving in the United States Army during WWII, Bill was united in marriage to Beatrice Thelen of Randall, MN. He worked for a contractor building REA lines until 1947 at which time Bill and Beatrice purchased the Red Apple Café in Mahnomen.
Beatrice passed away in 1999 and Bill sold the Café in 2001 after 54 years in the business. His fondest memories were of visiting and exchanging stories with his many friends at the Red Apple.


Bill loved hunting and spending time at his deer camp in Northern Minnesota. His greatest love, however, was fishing – any kind, any place, and any time.
The last two years Bill has lived at Lake Hills Elderly Care outside of Chushng, MN under the loving care of Vicki and Pete Bollig.

He is survived by his son, Douglas and his wife, Jan, along with his grandchildren, Joshua and Megan all of Randall, MN. He is also survived by two sisters, Mary (Dean) Fearings of Staples, and Bernice Strausser of Tucson, AZ, and one brother, Anthony John of New Brighton, MN.
Bill was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Beatrice; and two brothers, Mathew and Joseph.

Funeral Services were held Friday, July 31, 2009 at 11:00 am at St. Michaels Catholic Church, in Mahnomen.

Visitation was held from 9:30 until 11:00 am at the church on Friday.

Interment took place at Christ the King Catholic Cemetery in Browerville, MN.