John was born and raised in Fresno. He was very proud of his Russian German heritage. He attended Lincoln elementary school and Roosevelt High School. Alumni of the class of 1953 please take note. In high school he joined the Horseless Carriage Club and participated in their parades. Later he bought a Model T Ford and dressed in period costume for the parades. He married his first wife Loretta and they had three children. He held various jobs including construction while working his way through Fresno State College. After graduation he was hired by the Fresno County Probation Department. John worked in all divisions of the department eventually becoming a supervising Probation Officer. While working in foster care placement he encountered 2 lovely children that he fell in love with and adopted growing the young family to five children. During this time he was also in the Navy reserves for 8 years.

One day John saw a documentary on television about a slaughter house in Chicago. It was life changing. He became an animal advocate and lacto/ovo vegetarian for the rest of his life. When his daughter Cheryl became nurse it inspired him to take Emergency Medical Technician classes. He volunteered in the emergency room at Saint Agnes hospital for two years. When he moved to the mountains he also worked for Sierra Ambulance in Oakhurst for a short time.

After his divorce from Loretta he married his second wife Waunetta. He took an early retirement from the County in 1985. Shortly after that they moved to Ahwahnee in the beautiful Sierra Nevada foothills. For the next 7 years John and Waunetta worked on building their retirement home. They did all the work themselves. John was told by a geodesic dome contractor that he couldn't build a dome without them. He took that as a challenge and was determined to prove them wrong. In the end, he made some structural changes to the original building plans that were incorporated into the new plans provided in later editions by the building company. When the house was completed it was literally a show place that people would come to see and was written up in the Fresno Bee.

After completing the house John looked for another project and settled on building a vintage race car from found parts. He joined the Western Racing Association and had friends in the organization. He decided to build a Sprint Car from the 1940's with his son Steve. They got it to run, but sadly, he was never able to race it. He also bought a 1948 Red Sedan Delivery truck which he loved putting in local car shows. Some of you may remember he had a car hop with it. He put it in the Oakhurst Parade for several years winning many trophies with that car.

John's health began to deteriorate and he had a major stroke which resulted in his being in the Oakhurst Health and Rehab. Center. He was placed in hospice care last fall. Special thanks to the wonderful staff at Compassionate Care Hospice.

He is predeceased by his parents, granddaughter Crystal Click, 2 premature babies, brother Conrad Fuchs and daughter, Melinda Fuchs. . He is survived by his wife Waunetta of Ahwahnee, his sister Sonja Beers (Edward), All five of his children: Dorothy Barnes (Richard), Cheryl Leona (Ronald), Jeffery Fuchs (Teresa Guerrero), Catherine Pitman, and Steven Fuchs (Joanna), his grandchildren: Evan Leona, Ryan Leona and Adam Leona, Zachary Fuchs, Sara Fuchs and Stephanie Fuchs, 5 great grandchildren and 2 great great grandchildren.

Memorial donations in John's memory may be made to: Eastern Madera County SPCA, P.O. Box 1314, Oakhurst, CA 93644