John Alvin Kingsbury

John Alvin Kingsbury, 94, passed away peacefully at home in Olalla, Washington on June 16, 2019. John was born at home in Gig Harbor, Washington on May 4, 1925 to Alvin and Jennie Kingsbury. He is deeply loved and will be missed every day by his family and friends.

He attended and graduated from Gig Harbor Union High School in the year 1943. After High School, John joined the Army Air Corps. Following basic training in Texas, John attended advanced training at Washington State University (WSU) and Army navigational courses. He was assigned as navigator of a B-29 Bomber and continued in that role until his discharge in 1947. He was proud of his navigator time and held the B-29 Bomber in his heart for a lifetime. John returned to WSU and completed his bachelor’s in agriculture degree, graduating in 1950. He then decided to become a teacher and returned to WSU to complete a “fifth year” and earn his teaching certificate in 1951. He was always a proud Coug!. He then taught Junior and Senior High science for one year at Castle Rock, Wa. With his love of the Forest he landed a job in 1952 with the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) as a Farm Forester. He remained with DNR until retirement in 1981. He worked post retirement as an independent consulting forester assisting many local landowners with their timber and land management needs. During his college years John worked several summers on the trail building crew at Mount Rainier and spent one summer as choker setter on a high lead logging job in the Cascade Mountains.

John remained in the Reserve Air Force and was a retired Air Force Veteran, serving from the years 1943 to 1985.

John met Margaret “Peggy” Campbell on a blind date in 1953 and they fell in love and were married June 12, 1954. They settled in Port Orchard, WA and eventually raised four children. They also purchased property in the Olalla area in 1955 and began Five Springs Tree Farm which now holds his family’s legacy. John was a proud tree farmer, running Five Springs Tree Farm and passing his passion along to his children, who now run the farm.

Throughout his life as a Forester, John remained passionate about the woods, and he loved to share his passion with others. He was influential in the lives of numerous youths, spreading his knowledge abundantly. He donated much of his time to the Mission Creek Youth Camp, and to this day, his family hears from those whom he influenced. He was a participating member of numerous organizations involved with forestry, agriculture, and Tree Farming.

His favorite past times/hobbies were working on his trees on the tree farm, reading, WSU Cougar football, and family activities. John was an avid reader who never read a novel and believed that reading should be informative. He read every publication he could that related to forestry, agriculture, and tree farming and could always provide informed opinion, information, and insight regarding these subjects.

John is preceded in death by his Mother Jennie Kingsbury, his Father Alvin Kingsbury and daughter in law Diane Kingsbury.

John is survived by his loving wife of 65 years, Peggy Kingsbury;  sons, David (Annette) Kingsbury of Port Orchard, Douglas (Linda) Kingsbury of Olalla, and Daniel (Jody) Kingsbury of Olalla; daughter Debbie (Randy) Slater of Olalla; Sister, Barbara Nesbit of Portland Oregon; 17 grandchildren; 11 great grandchildren;  and a niece and two nephews.

A Memorial Service will be held at the Port Orchard United Methodist Church 725 Kitsap St. Port Orchard on Friday, June 28 at 1:00 PM. The family will host a reception to follow. 

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