Obit: John Allison, 51, Custer

Chief Allison

Fire Chief John E. Allison aged 51 of Custer, responded to his last call on Monday, October 14, 2013.  John was born on June 3, 1962 in Ludington, the son of James E. and Joan Marie (Quick) Allison, and graduated from Mason County Eastern High School in 1980, and on July 26, 2008, he married Tammy E. (Abbott) Orcutt at the Sugar Ridge Church of the Brethren.  John served his community as Chief of the Custer Fire Department, and as Assistant Chief of the Mason County Rural Fire Authority Chiefs Association.  Always ready to respond, he took his role very seriously, looking for ways to have the department better prepared for whatever emergencies arose.  Most recently, he was organizing safety procedure mock runs for school crisis situations, to insure the best possible response would be available, hoping it would never be needed.  John was a member of the Scottville United Methodist Church where he served on various committees in the church.  He was a farmer all of his life with his father and family, and loved spending time with his family and friends kayaking, camping, taking the Jeep’s out, and occasionally accompanying friends while hunting.  Always looking to give back to his community, John was a blood donor for many years, and even in death, was able donate so others could live.

John will be greatly missed by his wife Tammy, their children Chelsea (Zach) VanSickle of Scottville, and Bethany Orcutt at home, his parents Jim (Mary Shoup) Allison of Custer and Joan Allison of Ludington, his sister Jayne (Greg) Knudsen of Ludington, his brother George (Ginger) Allison of Custer, Tammy’s parents Becky (Jim) Lindenau of Ludington, Dennis (Judy) Abbott of Branch, and  Jim (Pat) Orcutt of Ludington, his brothers-in-law Adam (Rachel) Abbott of Walhalla, Cpl. Travis (Jessie) Haack of Colorado, and Christopher Haack of Ludington, his sister-in-law Brenda (Chris) Bahr of Whitehall, his uncles Bud (Jayne Krolczyk) Quick of Ludington, and Robert (Susan) Quick of North Carolina, and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and great friends with the fire departments and in the community.

Funeral services will be held for John at 3:00 pm on Saturday, October 19 at Cornerstone Baptist Church with his pastor, Rev. Jack Conklin officiating.  There will be a time of visitation from 1:30 – 3:00 on Saturday at the church.  Those who wish to make memorial contributions are asked to consider the care of his family.  Please visit John’s personal memory page atwww.stephensfuneralhome.net to sign his guestbook, or to leave a memory of John for his family.