John Gano

John W. Gano, age 81, of New Philadelphia, passed away on Thursday, September 14, 2023, in Community Hospice Truman House after a hard-fought battle with multiple debilitating illnesses.

He was born on March 9, 1942, in Dover, Ohio to the late Forrest and Marie (Espenschied) Gano.

John graduated in 1960 from New Philadelphia High School as the class valedictorian.  He built a work ethic from his early years where family had daily chores on the farm.  John grew-up without television, phone, and calculators, and put an emphasis on education.  He was proud of his educational and professional achievements.  He entered his engineering career by achieving the top score in the state of Ohio on the Professional Engineer Exam. He then graduated in 1966 with a Bachelors from Fenn College (now Cleveland State University) and a Masters in Engineering in 1973.

In 1964 he began an apprenticeship with Warner and Swasey, thus began a 40-year career in engineering at Gradall where he secured several US and International patents that were featured on Gradall products.  He was also a member of several professional engineering associations, and he served on safety committees of several industry standard organizations. After retirement, John was recognized in 2014 as the recipient of the New Philadelphia Quaker Foundation Award for Lifetime Contribution.

Along with his work at the Gradall company, he purchased his family farm in 1974, and began his farming career on evenings and weekends.  He started Gano & Son Farms with son Bob in 1985 that grew into a 90-cow milking operation until Bob’s untimely death in a farming accident in 1992.

John loved farming and viewed the development of the family farm as a crown jewel.  He loved the hours behind the wheel of a tractor or truck and late-night corn harvesting at farms throughout the valley.  John believed in the value of the farming community and helping one another when needed, and he enjoyed lunches at TJ’s with the local crowd. He also looked forward to the monthly breakfasts with past Gradall coworkers and friends.

When not farming, repairing, or spending time with family, John developed spreadsheets on risers/fallers in the stock market.  He always took great pride in outperforming the market.

John is survived by his wife of 57 years, Carol (Strimbu) Gano; children, Lisa (Chris) Weaver, Ann Gano, and Laura (Alan) Furner; daughter-in-law, Mary Welling; five grandchildren; sisters, Mary (Wayne) Dixon, Carol (Jan) Quillin, and Florence Miller; and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; son, Bob Gano; and siblings Forrest Gano and Margaret Haney.

A private family graveside service will be held.

Memorials may be made in John’s name to Community Hospice Truman House, 716 Commercial Ave SW, New Philadelphia, Ohio 44663.