John Edward Force, loved by his family and the Crystal Falls community, and a champion of sustainable forestry, died Tuesday, February 10, 2015, of complications following recent surgery. He was 71.

He was born October 23, 1943, in South Haven in southwestern Michigan, the son of Ruby and Ed Force. John graduated from South Haven High School, where he was an honor student and a two-sport varsity athlete. Following his undergraduate education at Knox College in Galesburg, Ill., John entered Officer Training School with the U.S. Air Force. He served his country as a missile officer based at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana, rising to the rank of Captain.

His experiences in that part of the country sparked a deep interest in and love for the environment, especially the northern pine and hardwood forests. When he returned to Michigan, he enrolled at Michigan Tech University in Houghton, earning a degree in Forestry. He then joined the Keweenaw Land Association as a forester, working on timberlands throughout the Upper Peninsula.

John’s work fostered a passion for sustainable forestry, and eventually he formed his own firm, and began to develop sustainable forest management and timber stand improvement plans for private clients. As a consulting forester, he worked with hundreds of land owners in the UP and northern Wisconsin, helping them harvest wisely and preserve their timber and wood lots for generations to come. Those strong, sky-reaching trees are his legacy.

One of his most memorable assignments was a trip to the Soviet Union to inventory forests near the Arctic Circle for a U.S.-based land owner. He recalled the warm welcome, the slow growth of the trees in that cold northern climate, and the vodka!

John not only worked to sustain our forest resources, he was keenly interested in passing his knowledge on to younger generations. He designed, procured and installed the Forest Products Exhibit at the Florence Natural Resource Center. He was a partner of the Natural Resource Education collaborative for area students, and used the Exhibit in his volunteer outreach. John also taught students about using compass, plat maps and topo maps, and how to manage red pine, aspen and northern hardwood forests.

In retirement he served as president of the board of the Swan Lake Association, helping keep that body of water clean and healthy. He loved to view it from his deck near the lake, and to kayak on it in the summer.
John was an avid reader of Great Lakes history, a thoughtful writer, and a lover of animals, especially the family dogs. He was an accomplished cook who was never happier than when in his kitchen baking bread, and sharing it with his many friends.

He was a member of Guardian Angles Catholic Church in Crystal Falls, and served the parish as an usher and in many other capacities.

John is survived by his wife Nancy; brother, Jim and sister-in-law Boo Force of Wausau, Wis.; brother- and sister-in-law George and Sally Hronkin of Alaska; and many nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be Friday, February 20, 2015, from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at the Jacobs-Plowe Funeral Home, Crystal Falls. The Crystal Falls American Legion Post No. 87 will conduct a pass and review Friday, 10:15 a.m. at the funeral home. Prayers will be recited 10:30 a.m. at the funeral home. The Funeral Mass will be celebrated Friday, 11:00 a.m. at Guardian Angels Catholic Church, Crystal Falls. Rev. Fr. Ray Valerio will officiate.

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”
-H.D. Thoreau

The family has chosen the Jacobs-Plowe Funeral Home, Crystal Falls to honor John’s Legacy of Life.

You may light a candle in remembrance of John or leave a condolence for his family online at www.JacobsFuneralHomes.com