{ JOHN DESELMS }
John Deselms, 97, of Mesa AZ passed away on Sunday, July 16, 2023.
John was born on July 16, 1926 in Betrand, NE to Wayne B Deselms and Helen Steven Deselms.
He spent his early years on the family farm near Edison, NE and graduated from Edison High School in 1944.
John joined the Navy in 1944 and was a Sea Bee.
After training in Idaho, he spent most of his service time in Okinawa.
After being discharged at the end of WWII, he returned to Nebraska and began a career in trucking. He met Thelma Breeden and they were married in 1948. They lived in various locations in Nebraska, Iowa and Texas before relocating to Tempe, Arizona in 1962. They had four children; Wayne, Marilyn, Peggy and Tamara.
John began working as a test driver for General Motors and retired in 1987. John and Thelma travelled in their RV during the early retirement years and then set down roots in Mesa, AZ.
John & Thelma had been married almost 72 years when Thelma passed away in 2020.
John loved family and maintained contact over the years with his large extended family of cousins on both the Deselms and Stevens sides. Up into his 80’s, he faithfully returned to Edison every Memorial Day weekend to attend the Edison High School reunion, visit the Edison cemetery and spend time with family and friends. John loved to tell stories about family, friends and interesting characters from his years in Oxford & Edison, Nebraska. John was a good husband and father who showed his love affection through his actions. In his later years, John continued to work on projects around his home and could often be found puttering in the backyard painting a lawn chair, working on a sprinkler or tinkering with a car engine.
John is survived by his children Marilyn (Greg) Wulk of Tempe, AZ, Peggy Mullen of San Tan AZ, Tamara (Mark Borja) Deselms of Kailua HI, daughterin- law Chris Deselms, 8 grandchildren Kevin (Karen) Deselms, Bryon (Candace) Deselms, Amy Jensen, Darcey (Austin) Stafford, Shannon (Nat) Schaner, Aaron Wulk, Jeff (Rheanna) Wulk, Jennifer (Mark) Rogers and 16 great grandchildren. He was predeceased by his wife, Thelma Breeden Deselms, son Wayne Deselms; grandson Jonathon Deselms, sonin- law Steve Mullen and sisters Ruby Chapman and Ruth Deselms.
