John Gordon Preis

John Gordon Preis

Oct. 7, 1940 – Jan. 1, 2022

John Gordon Preis, 81, passed peacefully at his home on New Year’s Day 2022 to go be with our Lord and savior. Having dealt with heart failure the past few years, John never had a diminished spirit and will always be remembered for the joy and laughter he brought into a room. John was born on Oct. 7, 1940, in Greybull, Wyo., to John Adam Preis and Geneva Merle Shoemaker. He graduated from Greybull High School in 1959 where he asked one of his friends who the prettiest girl in school was, to which he responded Nancy Ella Ewen. John and Nancy were later married on Aug. 4, 1963, and were blessed with their first son Gordon in 1966 and their second son Jerold in 1968.

John was a man of many talents and donned many hats. After graduating from the University of Wyoming with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting, John returned to Greybull where he worked at Big Horn Federal, managed Big Horn Lanes bowling alley, prepared taxes with Bill Shelledy, and owned H& R Block before retiring in 2017. Above all, his favorite profession was working on the farm where he raised not only crops and cattle, but also kids. Most of his nephews did at least one tour of duty on the farm for John during their summer vacations plus many of the boys’ childhood friends. He was avidly involved in the community as a Farm Bureau board member, a Big Horn County District #3 School board member, participant in the Greybull Rotary Club, Kiwanis, and was an enumerator at Wyo Ag Statistics Service. Most of all John loved singing, both in the community choir and at church. John’s family was among those who founded the Zion Lutheran Church in Emblem. Every Sunday you would hear John before you saw him, either laughing or singing loudly, sharing his joy and love for Jesus with all he encountered. Preceded in death by his parents, J Adam and Geneva Preis; brother Paul Preis and brother-in-laws Dewey Parrott and Harold Meier; uncles Walt Preis and Oscar Shoemaker; aunts Fern Preis and Helen Turner; cousins Patty Preis, and Paul Hanselmann. John is survived by his wife Nancy, his sons Gordon (Karen) Preis of Emblem, and Jerold (Jenn) Preis of Burlington; sisters Joan Meier of Lander, and Janet Parrott of Denver; grandchildren Amanda (Lance) Taylor, Jess (Claire) Preis, Logan Phillips, and Alexandria Preis and great grandchildren Morgan, Baylie, and Levi Taylor and countless nieces and nephews.

Arrangements have been entrusted to Atwood Family Funeral Directors.