BRENTWOOD, Calif. – John Greenlaw of Norway, Englewood, Fla., and most recently, Brentwood, Calif., died peacefully after a brief illness on Wednesday, Jan. 28.

He was born on Jan. 16, 1925, in Norway, the third child of Norman U. and Bernice H. Greenlaw. He was educated in the Norway schools and achieved the honor of Eagle Scout as a youth.

When his country called him in 1943, he answered and served in the 58th Quartermaster Base Depot of the U.S. Army in World War II. His military service took him through Western Europe and then to Okinawa after VE Day. While he did not often speak of his war experiences, he was proud to have served his country in such an honorable way.

Upon his return home from the war, he married his childhood sweetheart, Virginia Harlow in Norway, and went back to school, obtaining a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the University of Maine. He went to work as a civil engineer designing roads and structures to facilitate road travel. Some of his finest work was the design and supervision through construction of “Super Span” structures for Armco Steel, with the clear distinction of never having one of his structures fail, as his competitors had.

He retired in 1987 and moved to Florida, where he and his wife, Gina, enjoyed many years spending summers in Maine and winters in Florida. Last summer, he and Gina moved to Brentwood, Calif., to be near family.

His humor and storytelling will be missed by his beloved wife of 62 years, Virginia Greenlaw; his daughter and son-in-law, Susan and Charles Gilbert; his grandchildren; great-grandchildren; extended family; and hundreds of friends all over the United States.

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