John Eckert was born in Batesville, IN on August 10, 1940 to Alice Ella Shook and Lt. Col John C. Eckert of Osgood.
Growing up, John attended Osgood primary and high schools, and went on to be a near constant fixture at the high school alumni banquet every year. After high school, he was enrolled in ROTC at the University of New Mexico, where he earned a bachelor’s degree and was a member of the Lambda Chi Alpha national fraternity. He then trained in the United States Navy as an aviator, selecting to fly large propeller planes. He also attended a language school in Germany and became proficient in German, meeting several lifelong friends while there. He later earned a master’s degree in comparative literature and an MBA.
John was deployed to Spain during the Vietnam War, where he flew C-130 airplanes on highly classified intelligence missions. While in Spain, he met and later married Helen Hutchinson and adopted her 4 sons, who had lost their father to a military airplane accident.
After completing his deployment in Spain he returned to civilian life and worked briefly in the private industry sector for the Hillenbrand Company. He then rejoined the Navy and the family was stationed in Guam, where his daughter was born. John then left the Navy again to pursue opportunities with the airlines, but due to a hiring freeze he made the life-changing decision to take a job with the US Forest Service. John and Helen separated in 1975, and John stayed in southern California for some time before moving back to New Mexico.
During his career as a Forest Service pilot, John flew lead planes over forest fires all over the western US, and went on to hold upper-level administrative jobs until his retirement in 1995. Various positions in the Forest Service took him from Albuquerque NM, to Washington DC, to Sausalito CA.
After retiring, John enjoyed flying as a private-contract aviator, and was able to dedicate almost an entire second career to his passion of gun collecting and displaying. He established a world-class collection of German Luger pistols, which earned him innumerable awards and accolades, and he loved to share his knowledge of guns with anyone who was interested.
Between gun shows, John was always on the move. He stayed busy visiting family and friends all over the country and abroad, going on yearly backpacking fishing trips with children and grandchildren in the Weminuche Wilderness in Colorado. He also went on multiple fishing trips in Alaska, traveled to Egypt, Australia and England, and spent as much time as possible “generally goofing off.” When home, he was busy keeping up the house and especially the many trees he planted, but almost never missed a day of walking and shooting basketball at the neighborhood park. If you asked how retirement was, it was always met with a smile and a smug “Beats working.”
John maintained his childhood home in Osgood IN throughout his life, and was enriched by regular visits to see friends and connect with the town even after his parents passed in 1986 (John) and 2002 (Alice).
John is survived by four children, Peter Eckert of Edgewood, NM, Christopher Eckert of Eugene, OR, Richard Eckert of Waikaloa, HI and Katherine (Katie) Eckert Rainwater of Mt. Pleasant, SC; ten grandchildren, Andrew Eckert (Ashley, Virginia), Aaron Eckert (Oregon), Justin Eckert (Wisconsin), Colin Eckert (Hawaii), Marissa Aravena (Mauricio, Wisconsin), Allison Eckert (Wisconsin), Perry Eckert (Texas), Mihiana Eckert (Alaska), Fetia Mai Eckert (New York), and Talon Rainwater (South Carolina); five great-grandchildren, Kennedy, Michael, Charlotte and Savannah Eckert (Virginia) and Malakai Eckert (Alaska).
He was preceded in death by his son George Eckert of New Glarus, WI.
Visitation will be held on Saturday November 29, 2025 from 12-2 pm. at Neal’s Funeral Home in Osgood. Funeral services will follow at 2 pm. with Pastor Bill Roberts officiating. Burial will take place at Greendale Cemetery with Military Honors by the Osgood American Legion. Online condolences may be placed at Nealsfuneralhome.net