John Edgar Laun
July 1, 1956 ~ November 18, 2021 (age 65)
Obituary
John was a beloved husband, father, son, and brother. He was born Sunday, July 1, 1956 to George and Frances Laun in Las Vegas, Nevada. Two years later, his sister Frances was born and in 1960, the young family moved to Lincoln, Nebraska to be near George's family. Unfortunately, his father passed away when John was just seven and a half. His mother remarried, and John gained an older brother, Jon Enevoldsen.
John graduated from Southeast High School in 1974 and briefly attended the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. School was not his passion - working with his hands was. He and a friend opened a car repair shop in Lincoln and then joined the Can-Am circuit, racing cars all over the country. John was the mechanic responsible for keeping the race car in top working order. After racing became too expensive, he "escaped to the left coast" in 1980. In California, John continued to work with his hands, this time on video games. After living at both ends of the state, he left California in 1984 and headed to New Mexico. He did not know what to do next, but he knew he would work with his hands.
While looking for jobs in Albuquerque, he saw a help wanted sign: Brooks Communication needed someone to work on small business telephone systems. He applied and there was his future. He later said, "I didn't care if I swept the floor, I wanted to learn telephones." And learn them he did. He loved being "the pro from Dover" when it came to "fixing phones." He stayed with Clark and Kay Brooks for nearly 30 years until Brooks Communications folded in 2012 and he began working for Kent and Shari Skaggs at Millennium Communication. He not only knew every street in Albuquerque, he traveled every highway, repairing phone systems across the state. John loved everything about the telecommunication field.
It was a phone system cut-over that placed him at Skaggs-Alpha Beta in October 1991 where he met his future wife, Karen. She was a front-end assistant and he needed assistance pulling cable across the ceiling. John asked Karen to help. She did. They were married Saturday, November 28, 1992. They welcomed their son, Conrad, in May 1994 and their daughter, Anne, in August 1996.
John was a wonderful and loving father. He liked being a dad. When Conrad started Cub Scouts, John was at his side, eventually helping him achieve the rank of Eagle Scout in 2013. As Anne became involved in drama and singing, John attended every performance, proudly taking pictures and videos. The family vacationed all over the United States -as long as there was a National Park close by. When they were not traveling to family and friends, John and Karen enjoyed everyone in Albuquerque. Every holiday, birthday, or Super Bowl was spent with Mark and Jeanne (Karen's sister) Ronquillo, their kids, Max and Katie, and Vi Conrad (Karen's mom), and many friends over the years. John always made sure the house was clean and the music was playing.
In Spring of 2019, John began the final phase of the family's massive backyard so everyone would have a beautiful place to relax as they enjoyed the lights of Albuquerque. He never hired help, insisting on laying every paver, every tile, every ornamental plant because he knew he would do it right. His dream was completed that October when he and Karen hosted Conrad and Emily's rehearsal dinner.
John was a fabulous husband. He and Karen had such fun together. He bought a passenger van in 2017 and converted it into an Adventure Van for the couple to enjoy - and they did. John constructed a kitchen unit - complete with sink, microwave, coffee maker, and refrigerator - and a sleeping deck with storage underneath! They went on so many journeys, the last to South Dakota in June to visit Jon and Patty Enevoldsen. They went on to visit Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and Nevada. At the Bonneville Salt Flats in Wendover, Nevada, John set the Adventure Van Land Speed Record of 80 mph. He was so proud of that!
John is leaving a tremendous hole in many lives. Not only will Karen, Conrad, and Anne miss him, so will his daughter-in-law, his brother, his mother-in-law, his sisters- and brothers-in-law, his many nieces and nephews, and so many friends and co-workers. John, best of men, best of husbands, died Nov. 18 from complications due to COVID-19 with Karen, holding his hand.
There will be a celebration of John's life Monday, December 6, 2021,2:00 p.m. at Del Norte Baptist Church where John and Karen are members. It was there that John gave his life to Jesus and was baptized in 1999.
To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of John Edgar Laun, please visit our floral store.
Services
CELEBRATION OF LIFE
Monday
December 6, 2021
2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Del Norte Baptist Church
5800 Montgomery NE
Albuqurque, NM 87109