John Radzins
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John Radzins, 65, of Grandview, Missouri passed away peacefully at home on February 22, 2018. He was a lifelong area resident. A Celebration of Life will be held Sunday, March 4th from 3-8pm at VFW Post #5789 located at 329 SE Douglas in Lee’s Summit, Missouri 64063.
John’s parents, Leonids and Velta (Eiche) Radzins emigrated from Latvia to the United States so they could start a life and family together here. They settled in Kansas where they had 3 children. John was born in Olathe, Kansas on August 27, 1952. The family eventually moved to Kansas City, Missouri.
John attended Southeast High school and graduated in 1970. He had developed a passion for photography and was active in taking many pictures for the school year book. It was that love of the camera that led him to a career as a photographer and graphic artist where he worked for companies such as Rush Offset Printing, Vision Graphics, R.R. Donnelley, and Banta publishing until he retired.
In 1972 John married Leanna Snider and, from that union, had his only child Adrienne. Although the marriage didn’t last he remained a constant provider of love and encouragement for his daughter. He loved all of his family and would travel to see them whenever he could. He enjoyed several hobbies such as model building. He preferred the older airplanes and ships. He also had remote controlled versions of both. He collected pipes and enjoyed smoking a good tobacco occasionally.
John was also a huge fan of world history, science fiction, and horror movies. He loved costumes, masks, and make-up. The scarier, the better! He joked that Freddy Krueger and killer clowns lived in his basement
John was preceeded in death by his parents, Leo and Velta Radzins, and his grandparents Arturs and Elsa Eiche. He is survived by his daughter Adrienne York, of the home, his sisters Baiba Hodges of California, and Renate Selliger, of Colorado.
He also leaves his granddaughters, Sabrina Fisher, Haley Roten, and Ryan York, who he loved dearly. He is also mourned by his nephew and nieces, Eddie Hodges, Jackie Farrell, Michelle Landsberg, Heather Benton, Julie Cunningham, and Renee Badami and will be missed by a multitude of friends. Especially his dear friend Sabra Armstrong.
Rest In Peace John. You were an extraordinary man who had so many gifts . I miss your post and sense of humor along with your ability to assert your opinion on so many subjects and be so well informed. God Bless John and his family.
Rest in Peace Uncle John. I’ll never forget how we both loved a good horror movie, and yes the scarier the better. I’ll miss your sense of humor. May you live on in our thoughts and everytime it snows I hope we all remember how much it was your favorite time of year.
I love you daddy, I miss you so much, it’s so unreal. Rest in paradise daddy and save me a spot……ill see you again one day
I too will miss the daily “conversations” we had. Every snowfall will remind me that John was part of this world. I will miss John’s twisted sense of humor because it matched mine so well. RIP John. Adrienne, may God grant you peace.
I, like John, love snow, so every time it snows I will think of him and smile! Prayers of comfort for you Adrienne?
You will always be our little brother “Johnny”. Knowing that Renate and I were the only ones that could get away with calling you that made us special. May you rest in peace and know you are loved and will be missed until we meet again.
I will always remember your creative side with photography and building miniature model planes and cars, you would spend hours working on. You were one of the cool uncles growing up with, easy going and always open to talk about everything. You will be missed. Rest in peace Uncle John.
I remember when you picked me up from outdoor lab and we headed back up the hill to Georgetown! Such a great day! You also tried to teach me to drive a stick! Hilarious! Love you and miss our bantering about the weather!
John, even though I will not be attending your celebration of life, totally enjoyed our friendship and all the snow warnings. I will always think of you often especially when it snows….and will miss your morning likees….Of bless your family and many prayers to all…..miss a already buddy…
Will miss seeing your little granddaughter growing up on FB.
Me,my dad wayne,and son,hanan,and Hanan father mark.attended Uncle John’s funeral.John was a kind Uncle.He was kind too my son Hanan,and in my hard times,he always had a chuckle and joke for me too.I liked that about uncle john.
I worked with John at Rush Offset Copy Service in the late seventies and early eighties. I learned a lot from him about process camera work and photography in general. I really enjoyed taking lunch in the back of the shop with John. We had a lot of stimulating conversations and he would always light up his pipe after we finished eating. It’s because of John that I enjoy collection pipes to this day,