April 10, 1934 - January 05, 2019
John "Jack" Tunison Obituary
John ?Jack? Tunison passed away on January 5, 2019 at his home in Spokane Valley, WA. He was born on April 10, 1934 in Froid, MT to Ida and Riley Tunison. As a child, John spent many memorable moments with his grandfather, George Wessner, and cousins Tom and Bob Andring working on the family farm. John?s family moved several times during his childhood and eventually made their way to Benton City, WA where John graduated from Kiona-Benton City High School in 1952. During high school, John met sweet Betty Sue Hill and shortly after she graduated high school in 1954, they married and have only now been separated by his death. Betty loved and cared for John with exceptional loyalty for over 64 years. John graduated from Washington State College in 1957 which set a precedent for following generations. John and Betty settled in Spokane, WA where they raised their 3 daughters, Kathie, Patty, and Jackie. John had a successful structural engineering career which spanned nearly 50 years. John was involved with the design of the award winning Down River Park Bridge in 1971. In 1974, he supervised the design of the five bridges on the world?s fair ground, including two suspension bridges. He was named Engineer of the Year by Washington State Structural Engineers in 1975. In 1997, John earned the Robert Fraser Masonry Design award for his design of the Cyan Corporate offices. John often said he was fortunate to have a career he enjoyed and continued to consult until he was forced to retire due to health reasons in 2006. John always loved the mountains and took many vacations backpacking, camping, hunting, and fishing. On many of these trips, he was joined by family and friends creating memories of outdoor adventures. When he was 50, John learned to ski and enjoyed many ski trips with his grown children and young grandchildren, creating more shared memories of outdoor fun. John was an avid reader and truly a lifelong learner. He loved to discuss the books he had read and never missed the opportunity to argue topics that interested him. John was a great storyteller; the stories John told will continue to cultivate connections for years to come. John?s wife, Betty, and his brother-in-law, Don Hill, along with his children, 7 grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins, and many family and friends remain to keep his stories alive. No doubt John was often independent, opinionated, and stubborn to a fault. He was also immensely loyal to those he loved and could always be counted on for intelligent, level-headed advice. John often said, ?it?s better to be lucky than smart?. He was both. Please join the family as we honor him on Saturday, February 2, 2019 at Redeemer Lutheran Church, 3606 S. Schafer Rd., Spokane Valley, WA at 2:00PM. In lieu of flowers, please make a contribution to Spokane Valley Meals on Wheels.