January 27, 1935 – January 2, 2024

John Cress, 88 , passed away on Jan 2, 2024 in Redmond, OR
He was born in Kentucky on Jan. 27, 1935 to Oliver and Martha Cress.
John was seven when the family moved to Tabernash, CO He attended Middle Park HS and in his Sr. year he won the USSA Junior Ski Jumping Championships.
. He attended Denver Uni. Earning a degree in Education, he was on the DU Ski Team that won three NCAA Championships and he individually was a NCAA Champion and All American.
After college John joined the Naval aviation program later serving in the Naval Reserve.
In 1958 he met and married Patricia Connell of Casper, WY.
In 1960 he participated on the Nordic Combined Team at the Olympics in Squaw Valley, CA
After teaching and coaching in Jackson, Wy, he took the job of Uni of Wyo Ski Team Coach. In 1968 the team won the NCAA Championships.
In 1971 the family moved to Anchorage AK where he spent 20 years teaching and coaching and flying his restored PA-12 around Alaska.
He is was preceded in death by his brothers Luther and Jennings and sister Dorothy and his parents
He is survived by his wife Pat, sons Greg, Gary and Kirby Cress, sisters, Anna Lee and Letha Cress-Woolf and brother Glynn Cress, two grandsons and two granddaughters.