John Middleton Partridge

John Partridge, age 76, died peacefully at his residence in Overland Park, KS on July 13, 2020 after a long struggle with diabetes and dementia. John was born April 27, 1944 in Kansas City, MO to his parents Joseph Ruick Partridge and Margaret Ruth (Middleton) Partridge.

John grew up in Kansas City and graduated from Southwest High School. He attended college at the University of Kansas before serving in the United States Army in Korea during the Vietnam War. After he was honorably discharged from the Army, John began his first long career for General Motors, working at the Leeds assembly plant in Kansas City for 23 years. In 1968, John met and married his first wife Theresa (Hubbel) Partridge. John and Terri had two sons, Robert John Partridge and Thomas Matthew Partridge. In 1980, the family moved to Olathe, KS, where he and Terri raised Rob and Tom. John taught his boys critical life skills, including how to bowl, how to throw a curveball without damaging a young elbow, and that it was a sin not to root for the hometown teams, the Royals, Chiefs, and Jayhawks. By constant example, John also taught them respect, hard work, kindness, and generosity.

After his divorce in 1993, John moved to Ottawa, KS, where he began his second career at Fashion, Inc, working there for 15 years until he retired in 2009. With Fashion, John traveled to all parts of the country to install awnings and the lighting around the pumps at gas stations, and he loved it. In 1998, John married his second wife Pamela Jean Salts, and they lived together in Ottawa, KS until 2013, when they moved to Wichita.

In 2017, John and Pam divorced, and John moved to Gardner, KS to be closer to his sons. Suffering for 25 years from diabetes and showing advancing signs of dementia, John moved into Rose Estates Assisted Living in February, 2019, where he was every nurse's favorite resident.

John had only a few hobbies, but he was passionate about them. He was usually in 2 or 3 bowling leagues at any given time. He created thousands of beautiful woodworking crafts as gifts, to sell, and as decorations and furniture in his home. He built and worked on cars. He loved watching Jayhawks and Chiefs games, and he rarely missed watching the Royals. During his 76 years, John made many friends and no enemies.

John was preceded in death by his mother (1988), his father (1995), and his brother David Partridge (2005). He is survived by his sons Rob and Tom, older sister Anne Mayes, twin sister Mary Hoss, five grandchildren (Chelsea, Autumn, Grace, Christopher, and Sylvia), ex-wives Teri Partridge and Pam Salts, and his beloved cat Coco.

Memorial services for John will be held at Penwell-Gabel Chapel in Olathe on Friday, July 17, 2020, with a visitation beginning at 2:00 PM and a service beginning at 3:00. Immediately following the memorial service, John's sons would like to welcome you to a celebration of life reception at Heritage Park Shelter 4 in Olathe.

In lieu of flowers, please consider honoring John's memory by making a donation to the Alzheimer's Association of Kansas City.

To leave a message of condolence for John's family, or to share a special memory of John, please visit the guestbook below.


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