After a well-lived life, John George Long, Jr. passed away peacefully on September 2, 2026.
Dear husband of the late Joan Louise Long (nee Thym); dear father of Kathi Ann (Jeffrey) Haller, dear grandfather of Benji and Jordan, dear brother of the late Elamay (Orville) Burns, the late Bernice (Ralph) Matt, the late Annita (Bob) Sollmann, dear uncle to David (Cathy) Burns, Karen (Ken) Lockhart, Barb (Ed) Anderson, Jennifer (Joe) Wagner and the late Valerie (John) Stetcher, great uncle, cousin, godfather and friend. He was proceeded in death by his parents John George Long, Sr. and Hildegarde Henrietta Long (nee Meier).
John was born on May 14, 1936 and was raised in Lemay and graduated from Hancock Place school district. After college graduation from Washington University in St. Louis with a Fine Arts degree, he enlisted in the Air Force and served three years at the Keesler base in Biloxi, Mississippi, Keflavik base in Iceland and Wright Patterson base in Ohio. He was able to use both his art talent and military interest during his career at McDonald Douglas/Boeing where he worked as a Graphic Artist and Art Director during the space program and later on military planes and missiles programs. He designed an astronaut uniform patch for the Gemini IX mission that was worn on the astronaut’s space suits. He introduced Apple Macintosh computers to the company in his department when they were brand new. He also worked at DataServ, as one of its initial employees. He retired and enjoyed his time with family and friends – especially driving his grandsons home from school and buying them ice cream every day.
In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy in John’s name may be made to the Missouri Historical Society, the St. Louis Art Museum or a charity of your choice.
Service: According to John’s wishes, in lieu of visitation, a Celebration of Life service will be conducted on Saturday, September 12, 2026 at 11:00a.m. in the Sunset Memorial Park chapel. We will meet at the east entrance for a procession to the chapel. The family invites you to join them for lunch immediately after.