John F. VandenBosch

John F. VandenBosch of El Paso, Texas passed away June 1, 2024 at the age of 90.  He was born in Alexandria, Louisiana, the son of Henry C. VandenBosch, a traveling salesman from Wisconsin, and Marilyn Louise Jacobs of Alexandria, Louisiana.   Big John, as he was fondly referred to because of his stature, grew up in Beaumont, Texas, graduated from high school and then joined the United States Air Force.  John was stationed in a variety of places including Greenland and Alaska, his last station was Biggs Air Field.  He took to the lack of humidity and nice temperature and settled in El Paso and remained for the rest of his life.  John met his wife, Dolly, while both were working at Southern Union Gas Company.  They celebrated their marriage August 16, 1961.  John was self-employed and a hard worker who retired many times, because he just could not stop working.

John is survived by his family, of El Paso, his son John VandenBosch, Jr, his daughter Jennifer VandenBosch-Wallen, son in law Craig Wallen and his beloved grand-daughter Sarah Wallen.  John is predeceased by his wife Dolly Ruth Hicks VandenBosch, his parents, his brother Henry VandenBosch and sister Sister Marilyn “Sally” VandenBosch.

In addition to telling stories and jokes, Big John had two joys in life.   First was his granddaughter Sarah who he doted on constantly, it brought him great joy being her Paw.  The second was making wooden toys.  John was a wood smith extraordinaire.  He started his passion with building homes and cabinets for people around him. At some point in his later years, he switched to making wooden toys. These toys ranged from simple toy trains for less fortunate children to intricate coal engine trains, complete with coal cars and water tanks, giving them to anyone who made an impression on him.  John built rocking horses, which he donated to various organizations as fundraisers, such as the Ronald McDonald House, the Shriner’s Hospital and St. Matthews Catholic School.  One of his most treasured rocking horses was done for the Girls Scouts with their Zink The Zebra initiative about a Zebra with spots instead of stripes.  John spent many fond years assisting the Woodworkers Club of El Paso with their toy program, this brought him enormous joy and forged many wonderful friendships.  John pulled in many organizations to help him; he received wood from Crate-All, Inc. and 84 Lumber on McCutcheon, and many other generous companies helped him in his endeavors to raise funds for less fortunate children.

The family would like to express their appreciation for all the help given to John later in his life by Felipe, Maggie and his next-door neighbors Cindy & Sergio and the dinners brought to him by Frank.  You all were John’s guardian angels.

Services will be held at Sunset Funeral Home Northeast, located at 4631 Hondo Pass Drive on Monday, June 10, 2024.  Visitation will be from 10am until noon and a Chapel Service will follow from noon until 1pm.  Committal Service will take place at 9:30 AM on Tuesday, July 09, 2024 at Fort Bliss National Cemetery.

Charitable contributions can be made to St. Raphael’s Catholic Church or the Woodworkers Club of El Paso.