John Ahne was easy-going, soft-spoken, and loved by all who knew him. For the past 41 years, his grandchildren and great-grandchildren
called him "Pa", a name given to him by his first grandchild that stuck for the rest of his life. He was 96 when he passed away at home with his daughter and her immediate family in Wichita, Kansas on December 11, 2025.

John was born in 1929 on his family's farm in Scranton, Arkansas, one of eight siblings. He attended school in Scranton and graduated from Subiaco Academy in 1949. Two years later, he enlisted in the Air Force, beginning a 20-year military career that would take him and his family across the country and around the world. He served in Korea and Vietnam, was stationed at ten bases from Wisconsin to Ohio, and earned a high security clearance as a communications specialist. Along the way, he married Charlotte Ives in 1953, and together they raised two children despite the frequent moves that military life demanded.

After retiring from the Air Force in 1971, John moved his family to Wichita, Kansas to join his older brother, Lawrence, in his cement business. He spent years pouring sidewalks, driveways, garage floors, and swimming pools around the Wichita area. When Lawrence retired and moved to Texas to care for their younger brother, Herman, John picked up carpentry—framing homes, hanging drywall, painting, and handling the finish work that made houses ready to sell.

In 1998, he set aside his tools for good to care for Charlotte after her stroke, staying by her side until her passing in 1999 after 46 years of marriage. Even then, he couldn't sit still for long. He took up handyman work with his neighbor Eric and spent years maintaining his own home and his family's homes. John was always an avid gardener and generous with his produce. But what John loved most was family. He spent his days working, playing with, and caring for his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. When asked why he got up every morning, his answer was always the same: "To be with those kids."

John was preceded in death by his wife, Charlotte, and his son, John Ahne Jr. He is survived by his daughter, Barbara Fowler (Jay); grandchildren Kelsey Fowler, Michael Fowler (Lindsay), and Kelly Owen (Lanny); great-grandchildren Atticus, August, Lanson, and Nathaniel; and many nieces and nephews.

In place of a burial and funeral service, he chose cremation and a memorial service, as he had arranged for his wife. A memorial service will be held on Memorial Day weekend 2026.