John BlackJack Rahn Obituary

Description: John Rahn Obituary... Our Heartfelt Condolences To His Loved Ones...

John Rahn

December 24, 1952 ~ March 4, 2025 

(age 72)

Obituary

John Arlyn Rahn or Blackjack as he liked to be called, was born on December 24, 1952 in Sterling, Whiteside County, Illinois to William Horst Rahn and Alene Thelma (Slager) Rahn. John passed away peacefully on March 4, 2025 at the age of 74 at his apartment in Lamar, CO with a Lamar Area Hospice volunteer by his side. Per John’s request, cremation has taken place and inurnment will take place in the family plot in Mt. Morris, IL at a later date.

John is survived by brother, Bert (Christy Ghibellini) Rahn and their family and his longtime friend, Pete Saraf of Orlando, Florida; his coworker and partners in mischief, and many others whom he met on his journeys around the USA.

John left home at the age of 17 and went to California where as time passed, he met Pete Saraf, his longtime friend and coworker. John eventually travelled to Florida to help Pete with his construction business in Orlando. John would go North in the Spring of each year to any place he could hitch a ride, usually by 18-wheeler trucks. He would find work here and there while living in a tent. In the Fall of each year, he would travel back to Florida to work with Pete, still sleeping in a tent most of the time. John would call himself a "Road Dog". He always made sure to distinguish that he was not a “Hobo”. Road Dogs made their own living and did not panhandle..... much.

Blackjack, as he liked to be known, had many adventures and stories to tell. At times the details changed from time to time, but the stories were always entertaining. One story was that he was fishing in a lake and had a big fish on the line. As he reeled the fish near the boat and was just about to catch fish in the net, the fish wiggled its way off the fish hook. He was not happy and picked up his false teeth lying on the boat bench and threw them at the now escaping fish in the lake. He missed. He said the teeth made his mouth sore, anyway.

Blackjack had a strong voice and was hard of hearing. He was never hard to understand, but some voices he could barely hear. If he was in an office building he could be heard by most of the employees several offices away from the one he was in. His laugh was a full body laugh with a toothless grin. He had a white beard and little hair on top of his head, always covered with a hat. One of his sayings was, "You don't get a white beard by being incompetent" or something like that.

He loved finding rocks as a lifelong adventure. He was a rock hound and looked at rocks everywhere he travelled. Going to a rock show was an awesome treat for him. Nurse Joyce and her husband took Blackjack to the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs and a rock show. He brought some rocks home and was very happy. He even had to buy another table to display his rocks. Blackjack would have his rock tumbler as high as it would go so he could hear it.

For Blackjack, being in one place for a long time was difficult. Living with four walls was like torture for a man who spent most of his life in a tent. Even in his youth with his brother Bert they would go out in the field and be in a tent. He seemed to have adjusted to living in his apartment, sitting in his recliner, looking out of his window on Parkview Avenue at people driving by and seemed to have satisfied him with his desire to be outdoors.

Having doctors "poking him" was not to Blackjack's liking, nor was the paperwork that came with being more dependent on others to take care of him. He liked to attend Grace Fellowship Church at The Brew on Sundays, but always near the back door so he could leave if there were too many people at church. He could be seen riding his bike to church with a black helmet with a mohawk on it. He credited two people for his return to faith. One was Robert Smith who was very kind and encouraging at a time when he needed it and the other was a person from the Lamar Ministerial Alliance. Blackjack was sober for 2 years from January 1, 2023 and very proud of this. It had taken him over 50 years to be sober. He readily admitted his past mistakes and was willing to help others.

There were many people in his life while he lived in Lamar from July of 2018 until his passing.  His "housekeeper" as he called her, Linda who was more than that. She would take him to Walmart, cook for him, do his laundry and take care of him. Nurse Joyce treated him very kindly by filling his med box and cooking him spaghetti. Lamar Area Hospice nurses, CNAs and volunteers were, as usual, very caring as he neared the end of his life.

Blackjack said he had the most wonderful life living in a tent across the USA.

Blackjack would always tell everyone, "God Bless you and God Bless America." May it be ever so.

Written by Greg Ausmus

Valley Funeral and Cremation is in charge of arrangements.

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