John Novak

John Gerard Novak was born November 23, 1956, in Hot Springs, SD. He was the third of six children born to John and Veronica Novak of Newcastle, WY. John attended school in Newcastle except for two years in Igloo, SD. He graduated from Newcastle High School in 1975. John had a paper route as a young boy and spent many hours with his dad learning how to fix cars and anything else they could fix. John played basketball in high school and was a sports fan all his life. He also enjoyed hunting deer.

John married Bev VanBuren in 1977, welcoming their daughter Laura in September of 1977. He and Bev later divorced. John married again and had two more children: Chandra Jean, born in April of 1980, and John Robert (Bobby) born in December of 1981. John loved his children and loved being a dad. John’s other love was his ’57 Chevy and cruising around town in any of his vehicles.

John worked at the sawmill in Newcastle, where he had a serious accident in 1979. Due to the accident, he almost lost his right arm. After many surgeries and extensive physical therapy, John regained full use of his right hand and arm. This devastating accident plus his children moving away made a serious impact on him for the rest of his life.

John moved to Laramie in 1986, where he worked at a sawmill and a lumberyard. While there, he also took some college courses. In 2007, John returned to Newcastle, Wyoming. Upon his return, he worked at Cambria Supply and Frontier Hardware. John also spent many hours at the Novak Ranch helping his parents and siblings with everything that needed to be done. John loved his family and friends and would do anything to help them. John had a keen attention to detail which he used for good, but that focus also caused him NEVER to forget past losses, however.

John left his earthly body on June 20, 2023, and passed to eternal life with our Lord where he could be with Jesus, his dad, and his brother.

John is preceded in death by his father, John Novak, his brother, Willie Novak, and his nephew, David Gonzales who passed away on June 26, 2023.

John is survived by his mother, Veronica Novak of Newcastle, his three children: Laura, Chandra and Bobby, 9 grandchildren, his sisters: Julie Gonzales of Laramie, WY, Lise (Jim) French of Coldwater, MI, Peggy  (LeRoy) Bustos of Albuquerque, NM, and Eileen Jones of Oshkosh, WI, along with 4 nieces, 4 nephews, and several cousins.

Services for John will be held on Saturday, July 15, at 1:00 pm at Corpus Christi Catholic Church with a reception to follow.