John Elwood Priest (January 14, 1930 to June 12, 2025) passed away peacefully, surrounded by his beloved wife of 63 years, Pam Priest, and other family members.
John led an extraordinary life, focused on family and service, and full of amazing adventures around the world. He absolutely left the world a better place.
Born in Hannibal, Missouri on January 14, 1930, to Clyde Bryan Priest and Evalena Priest (Elwood), he grew up with six siblings, and helped deliver milk around town for the family business. John graduated from Hannibal High School in 1948, and kept in touch with the Class of ’48, helping organize their 70th reunion in Hannibal.
Working his way through college on “The Railroad,” in 1950, John earned his Associate of Science from Hannibal LaGrange College, and in 1952, his Bachelor of Civil Engineering from Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy, where he was also a proud brother of the Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity. After his lifetime of master planning, building, and making the world a better place, he was honored by his alma mater (now Missouri S&T) as one of their Alumni of Influence, particularly for his humanitarian works, and inducted into the Missouri S&T Academy of Civil Engineers. In 1994, John earned his Master of Arts in Economics from The University of Oklahoma.
John enlisted in the United States Naval Reserve in 1948. Then, in 1953, he was commissioned through Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island, as a Civil Engineer Corps Officer in the United States Naval Reserve. He served on active duty for three years at Davisville, Rhode Island, and another 32 years as a Reserve Officer, retiring as a Captain in 1988. He was extremely proud of his 40 years of naval service, the highlight of which was leveraging his extensive global experience to contribute significantly to the development of the U.S. Maritime Strategy to counter the Soviet Union.
During John’s remarkable 60-plus-year civilian career, he specialized in improving vital water resources on every continent except Antarctica. A renowned master planner and engineer, he served the people of developing nations by helping them build sustainable infrastructure, water resources, and agriculture, contributing his skills and experience to some of the most well-known projects in the world, even during times of political upheaval, revolutions, coups d’etat, and wars. John took the most pride and satisfaction from his five years of work in war-torn Afghanistan, starting in 2003 through 2008, as he was known to all sides for his good work for the Afghan people.
In the midst of all his adventures, in 1961, John met Pamela Barnett, the love of his life, at a square dance at their social club in Lahore, Pakistan. With some patience and effort, he convinced Pam to date him. Only a few months later, Pam emigrated to England, so John travelled to London on his way to give a significant paper at a snow conference in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and proposed. Newly engaged, John and Pam could not stay in England long enough to meet the weeks-long requirement to post Banns of Marriage, so they journeyed to Cheyenne. When the conference attendees learned about their story, the spouses quickly organized their wedding, on April 17, 1962, right there in Cheyenne. The newly married couple made the front page of the local newspaper—Couple Crosses Oceans to Wed! They spent about three months honeymooning around the world, and then returned to live in South Asia and the Middle East for several years until 1968 when the family moved back to the United States. John and Pam were blessed with three children, Lesley, Bev, and John Bryan. John was a devoted husband and dad, and took his family around the world on many of his adventures. John and Pam were married 63 years.
John has friends from across the globe, who have valued him not only for his expertise, leadership, and mentorship, but also for his outgoing, social, caring nature, along with his many amazing stories, and incredibly corny jokes.
John is survived by his beloved wife and best friend, Pam, daughters Lesley Priest, and Dr. Bev Priest, son and daughter-in-law, John Bryan Priest and Hillary Alt Priest; grandchildren Tommy Priest, Will Priest, Holly Priest, and Mikey Priest; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, Clyde Bryan Priest and Evalena (Elwood) Priest; brothers William B. Priest, Clyde M. Priest, Leo D. Priest, Raymond D. Priest; sisters Doris M. Rhodes, and Gretta L. Yohn.
A Memorial Service and Celebration of Life for John will take place starting at 2 o’clock in the afternoon on Saturday, July 12, 2025, at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado. The service can be attended in-person, and will be livestreamed online. The livestream video viewing link will be available at www.stmikeschurch.com
In lieu of flowers, our family suggests donations in John E. Priest’s name to:
- St. Michael’s Episcopal Church—our family’s church.
Online: https://www.stmikeschurch.com/giving
By check: St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, 7400 Tudor Rd, Colorado Springs, CO 80919
- Painted Paws for Veterans—the dog rescue and sanctuary where we adopted Dad’s special friend, our pup Gracie. They support and pair Veterans and dogs.
Online: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=7GJE846CDF9FJ
By Check: Painted Paws For Veterans, 1111 10th St PMB 419, Alamogordo, NM 88310
- Springs Rescue Mission—helping people in need in Colorado Springs. Throughout his life, Dad always tried to help anyone in need.
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