John Edward Atchico passed peacefully on December 15, 2019 surrounded by his family in Billings, Montana.
Our beloved husband, dad, brother, papa, great-papa, uncle and best friend, John departed from this earth naturally to be with the Lord, at the age of 70. He was known for his quick wit, his infectious smile, his kind and compassionate spirit, and especially his love for the Lord.
John, was born May 29, 1949 in Harrah, OK to Jenny Wiles and Edward John Atchico. He graduated from Harrah High School in 1967. He went to the American Indian Arts Institute in Santa Fe for one year. He also went to Haskell Institute where he received his heating and air-conditioning certificate in 1970.
He worked his whole life starting from age 14. He worked two summers at the Grand Canyon, on and off during college years. Taking the BIA relocation program to Denver in 1970, where he began his career in heating and air-conditioning. He moved to Poplar in 1972, and began working for CNM Construction. He then moved on to Service Soft Water Conditioning, from there he went to the Ft. Peck Tribes working with furnaces, moving to the position of HIP Director and Enterprise Director. Leaving the tribes, he went to work at Dody Culbertson Plumbing. From there he went to MDU Utilities starting in 1985 and retiring in 2009. Spending 24 years as the MDU service man. He also spent time volunteering on the Poplar ambulance crew in the 1970’s. He enjoyed retirement. His highlights were his travels to Hawaii in 2016 and attending the NBA Playoffs Oklahoma Thunder vs. Portland Trailblazers in 2019.
October 1968, he met the love of his life, Linda Red Thunder at Haskell. They married May 26, 1970 in Lawrence, KS on the campus of Haskell in a little Baptist Mission church, in front of their close friends and family. They just celebrated their 49th wedding anniversary this year. Together they raised two daughters, Leslie and Jennifer and one son, Lee Aron.
John’s passions in life were his grandchildren and great grandchildren, who he cherished and loved. His family was everything to him. He looked forward to his Atchico Family Reunions every June in Oklahoma. He loved working and building things for his kids to play. He loved old cars and his 60’s music. He always put others before himself. John met the Lord in 1968, where he had a personal experience with Him and thereafter he has loved the Lord ever since. He was always willing to stop and pray for anyone who requested. He was a humble and selfless man.
John was preceded in death by his father, Edward Atchico; his mother, Jenny Wiles; his beloved son, Lee Aron Atchico; his 4 older brothers and 3 older sisters, his father and mother-in-law Joe and Evelyn Red Thunder; his brother-in-law, Barry Ventura; his sister-in-law, Carol Red Thunder; and his granddaughter, Ashlee Ann Atchico.
He is survived by his beloved wife Linda Atchico; his two daughters, Leslie (Darrell) Todd, and Jennifer (Nishant) Shrestha; his grandsons, Andrew Frederick, Jalen Atchico, Alex Boyd, Abhi Shrestha and his only grand daughter Cory Jaye Fourstar along with his beloved great-grandsons River Frederick and Arrow Atchico; special nephew/son Marcus Red Thunder and granddaughter Chanel Red Thunder; special daughter, Stacie Smith-Fourstar; special son, Michael Aviles; his sister-in-law, Kathleen Ventura; niece, Traci Longtree; nephew, Joey Ventura; grandson, Joshua Miller, Jordon Messerly, Jayden and Coby Ventura;Butch and Dale Bear, Anita (Clyde) Bauer, Suzanne (Courtney) Smith, Feryl (Jim) Patch, and the matriarch of the family Myrna Greufe; and his beloved family in Oklahoma, too numerous to mention; and his special nephew, Clarence Deer in Harrah, Oklahoma.
A prayer service will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, December 22, 2019 at the Assembly of God Church in Poplar, Montana. The funeral will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Monday, December 23, 2019 at the Assembly of God Church in Poplar, Montana. Cremation will follow. Clayton Stevenson Memorial Chapel has been entrusted ondolences for the family may be left using the form below.