In Memory
John Russell Somerville
John Russell Somerville, beloved husband of Marty Straton and adored father of sons Robin and Tim and their spouses Ann and Ginny, passed away October 12, 2021. He is survived by his sisters, Virginia Stough and Anne Sutton, both of California.
John, known as JR, was an Editorial Cartoonist who was given the Medal of Freedom Award for his excellent work. Two of his cartoons are especially noteworthy, his editorial cartoon of Stalin and his editorial cartoon of Dwight D. Eisenhower, which is prominently on display at the Eisenhower Museum in Aberdeen, Kansas.
JR, hailing from McCook, Nebraska and summering often in Colorado, graduated from the University of Missouri School of Journalism in 1942. He joined the Navy and served for two years as a radioman at Barbers Point in Ohau, Hawaii after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.
JR was then sent to the Naval Officer Training School at Harvard. Following that he became Communications Officer for the Fourth Fleet in Recifi, Brazil where sixteen German submarines were discovered and destroyed.
Towards the end of World War II, he went to the Philippines and then to Okinawa where his ship was preparing to invade Japan. His life was undoubtedly saved as were hundreds of thousands of other Americans, due to the atom bomb being dropped on Hiroshima, Japan.
After the war, JR worked for the Denver Post. Some years later JR and his wife Barbara bought an Alden schooner and sailed over to Mexico, he doing free lance work at the time.
After selling the schooner, they moved to Sausilito, CA to raise their sons and both worked on newspapers in San Francisco. They then moved to Ardmore, PA where JR worked on his cartoon strip called 'Stanley Steamer." Following that he worked for the Atlanta Journal for some years before moving to Toronto, Canada when he began working for the Universal Press Syndicate in sales, enabling him the stimulating job of visiting newspaper editors throughout the United States.
Upon retirement, JR built a home on Vancouver Island in Canada and started his own syndicate" Eggers," working with children and their cartoons picking their best cartoons to be published in their local newspapers around the United States.
JR's 100th birthday was celebrated in February with a large, festive drive-by parade led by a Naval Honor Guard and a bagpipe player. With a cheering section of neighbors, 65 decorated cars full of friends, an army truck tooting its horn and a cluster of motorcyclists joyfully calling "Happy Birthday" while waving to him, he happily waved back while sitting under a tent donated by the DAR which was decorated with flags, flowers, and balloons.
JR was a man of integrity, full of love, compassion, and intellect. This outstanding man will be sorely missed by his family and many friends.
A celebration of his life will take place at our home in late November.
In lieu of flowers please give to: The Peggy Adams Animal Rescue, 3200 North Military Trail, West Palm Beach, FL 33409
Posted online on October 19, 2021
Published in The Palm Beach Post
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