John Windon Merchant

John Windon (Windy) Merchant was born August 5, 1940 in Boston, MA and passed into eternity on February 14, 2021 in Los Alamitos, CA. after a brief illness. Although a Boston native, he was a Californian at heart, moving to Long Beach at age five and attending Fremont Elementary, Rogers Jr. High and Wilson High School. Upon graduating from Wilson, he attended the University of Arizona, joining Sigma Nu fraternity and graduating in 1963. He was a proud Wildcat his entire life. He married the love of his life, Georgia, in 1966 and in the early 1970s they moved to Rossmoor, where he would have a positive impact upon the community. He was a member of Good Shepard Presbyterian church in Los Alamitos, where he served as a deacon. He served on the Neighborhood Watch Committee and recently collaborated with the county to design and post new signs for Rossmoor. He worked for thirty-two years at Douglas Aircraft, continuing through mergers as this company became McDonnell-Douglas and finally Boeing.

John was the ultimate family man and friend. He was actively involved in his children's lives, coaching his son Greg's baseball team, acting as Chief John for the Indian Guides, and coaching his daughter Amy's soccer and softball teams. He helped Amy study for spelling tests and packed lunches for each family member when Georgia returned to teaching fulltime. Even after both kids graduated from high school and then UCLA, he was always there when needed, whether to move into a new house or apartment, to make repairs of any size, or to give requested advice.

When his grandsons Evan, Colin and Carter were born, Boppa became active in their lives as well, cheering them on whether they were swimming across the pool at the Joint Forces Base, sailing in Alamitos Bay, playing baseball, basketball, running track or cross country.

While his family was most important to him, a close second was his love for sailing. John was an avid sailor and became a member of Alamitos Bay Yacht Club in 1964. In 1955 he had won third place in the National Sabot Championships and from there moved into sailing Snipes and then his beloved Cal 20. If there was a regatta happening at ABYC, he was sure to be there, either racing or assisting on the race committee. In 2003 he became commodore and helped oversee many improvements to the club and the yard. One of his greatest pleasures was that his children and grandsons all learned to sail Sabots.

John was physically active, running, golfing, playing volleyball, sailing and biking with his longtime friends. After retirement John and Georgia enjoyed their Wisconsin lake home and traveling! He loved their adventures all over the world, from Australia and New Zealand to Scandinavia, China, Turkey, the Alps, the Cape of Good Hope, Cape Horn, Paris, London, Rome and Venice to name but a few. He loved going to UCLA football and basketball games, rooting for the Bruins! (unless they were playing his Wildcats). Along the way he made lasting friendships, whether from elementary or high school, the University of Arizona, as a result of his kids' or Georgia's activities, or of his own at ABYC, church or through travel.

John is survived by Georgia, his wife of fifty-four years, son Greg Merchant of Long Beach, daughter Amy Ballow, son-in-law Jason Ballow, grandsons Evan, Colin and Carter Ballow of Encinitas, brother Alan (Donna) Merchant of Long Beach, sister in-law and brother-in-law Sharon and Larry Smith of Farmington, MN and many nieces, nephews, cousins, aunts and uncles. He will be greatly missed by his family and friends.

A Celebration of Life is planned for August 5 at Alamitos Bay Yacht Club in Long Beach. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (www.lls.org) would be appreciated.