John J. Macan died of cancer on 13 May 2009, at his home in Montgomery, TX. He was born in 1934 in Omaha, NE, wherefrom he entered the Naval Academy.

After graduating with distinction with the Class of 1956, he reported to JOHN R. PIERCE (DD-753) and became chief engineer the following year. He was selected for graduate school at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and three years later, he graduated with the professional degree of naval engineer and master of science in naval architecture and marine engineering. John became an engineering duty officer and served in San Francisco Naval Shipyard, as repair officer in the destroyer tender FRONTIER (AD-25), and finally in the Naval Ship Engineering Center in Washington, DC.

John resigned in 1969 with the rank of lieutenant commander and moved to Houston, TX, with his family to join the offshore drilling contractor firm of Atwood Oceanics as vice president of Engineering and Construction. He advanced to become president and director in 1978. He resigned in 1980 to form his own company, Macan Offshore, which he subsequently liquidated due to the downturn in the oil industry. In 1982, he became president and director of Marlin Drilling Company, the contract drilling division of Tenneco Oil Company. John traveled extensively in the international oil drilling business. Meanwhile, his family enjoyed owning horses, and all six daughters graduated from Texas A&M. John retired from Marlin Drilling in 1989, did some consulting, and spent a year with Diamond M-Odeco as senior vice president of Technical Services before retiring finally at the end of 1992.

Following retirement, John and Carol moved to the Bentwater community on Lake Conroe in Montgomery, TX. There, John enjoyed his passion since USNA for bridge, golf almost every day (with his cart parked in his garage!), travel to Europe for golf, and a growing number of grandchildren. Later, he took up model shipbuilding and recently was working on his sixth full-rigged, sailing warship, having completed intricate models of CONSTITUTION, Admiral Lord Nelson’s HMS VICTORY, and the huge Spanish SANTISIMA TRINIDAD. or enjoyed more than his family. He and Carol celebrated 52 years of marriage on April 27th. They devoted their lives to their six daughters, Christine, Maureen, Kathleen, Lisa, Mary and Suzanne; their husbands; and eight grand children. The Macan Family & Chip Honsinger ’56