In loving memory of John Pearson

7/29/1932 - 8/15/2017

Location: Napa, California

Visits: 12,390

This memorial was created in honor of Dr. John Edward Pearson who passed away peacefully at age 85 of natural causes at Aegis of Napa on Tuesday, August 15, 2017. He was born July 29, 1932 in Kansas City, Missouri to Donnell and Catherine (Kenney) Pearson. He graduated from Tonganoxie High School in 1950 and from the University of Kansas in 1954, where he studied political science and was a member of the Navy ROTC program. After serving three years in the Navy, he returned to attend KU Medical School, graduating in 1962.
Following medical school he completed a residency in psychiatry at the Mayo Clinic in 1966, following which he moved to La Jolla, California, where he practiced psychiatry for 30 years. During his professional career he gained Board certification in psychiatry and neurology and was known for his humanistic concern and diagnostic acumen in helping patients with complicated combinations of mental and physical problems. He served for over 20 years as an Examiner for the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, and was a member of the San Diego Psychiatric Society Ethics Committee from 1981-1995, serving as Chair from 1983-1985.
An avid sailor and outdoorsman, he taught his children how to raise chickens, tie a double half hitch, and not give up without trying to nurse one more effort out of any rundown machine. More than anything, he loved the callouses on his hands – memories of his youth in rural Kansas, but also hard-won symbols of a life built in harmony with his wife, both of whom were connected to the soil of their backyard and to the fruit orchards they created together in the mountainsides and meadows of their land in Julian, California.
He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Joanne, and their four children, Steven Pearson and wife Kimberley, Chevy Chase, Maryland; David Pearson and wife Linnea, St. Helena, California; Virginia Shogren and husband Andrew, Sequim, Washington; and Kate Gauger and husband Craig, Napa, California. Also surviving are eleven grandchildren, Deanna, John, and Brett Pearson; Madeleine, Sophie, and Spencer Pearson; Grant and Emma Shogren; and Matthew, Ellie, and Sarah Gauger. He was preceded in death by his parents, his sister Virginia (Ninia), and brother Richard (Dickie).
The family will announce a future date for a gathering in celebration of his life. They suggest memorials in his name be given to the Alzheimer’s Association or a charity of the giver’s choice that supports healing of the human mind and spirit.