Lion John was born in Chinchilla, Qld, the second of five children, and raised on his parent’s farm. He completed his education at Chinchilla State High and commenced work with Bank of New South Wales (later to become Westpac). As soon as he turned 17 he also joined the local CMF unit, and thus began a second career as a part time soldier which lasted 36 years.

John’s wife Shirley spent most of her childhood in Chinchilla, and in 1968 she accompanied John on their first date to a Junior Farmers meeting, their first community service. Married in 1969, their marriage has been blessed with one son, two married daughters and five grandchildren.

John’s career with the bank took them to many places in Queensland, and in 1989 they moved to Normanton for two years – his first  appointment as Manager, and it was there that  John joined the Carpentaria Lions Club, with a commitment to service which continues unchecked to this day.

On return to Townsville John had many more postings and promotions with the Bank, retiring in 2005 after 39 years, as State Manager Business Direct Qld/NT. He received many community service awards from Westpac, including the CEO’s GOLD Award for Volunteering Excellence. He was a Board Member of the Salvation Army Red Shield Appeal for 6 years. During this time he was very active with Castle Hill Lions, with eldest daughter Joanne winning Miss P Charity  in 1992 & youngest daughter Rebecca also President of Castle Hill Leos Club.

In 1985 John was  awarded the Medal Of The Order Of Australia (OAM) for his services to the Army Reserve, and reached the pinnacle of this career when promoted  to Major as the Officer Commanding Army Reserve Recruiting for  Central and Northern Qld – great training for his future roles in Lions as Membership Chairman at both Club and District level. And for the record, he is a Key Member, and has personally sponsored 48 new members into the Lions Family.

John & Shirley now reside at Mystic Sands on the coast near Rollingstone, where he completed his next great challenge – re-raising the Rollingstone And District Lions Club .With great enthusiasm and energy , & with tremendous support from Lions Lady Shirley, John as Guiding Lion and Branch Co-ordinator on 5/5/07 saw the new club chartered with 37 members. Both John and Shirley are active members of the local Historical Society, with John also a Board Member of the Rollingstone Community Association.

John has 20 years perfect attendance, has received many Club & District Awards including  the James D Richardson Award by District 201Q2 in 2007, and the Melvin Jones Award from his Club in 2008.