John Desmond Rovick, Jr.
John Desmond Rovick, Jr.
In the
summer of 1941 he started work as a staff announcer at WSPD in Toledo,
Ohio. He was on air on Sunday December
7, 1941 when news came over the Teletype of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He alerted the news department and station
personnel and kept Ohio listeners informed of developments until news editors
arrived.
In February
of 1942, John enlisted in the U.S. Army and was assigned to basic training in
the radio operator school at Scott Field, Illinois, graduating as a Staff Sgt.
He then went to air-gunnery school in Tyndall Field, Florida, where he was
assigned to the 340
th
Bomb
Group/489
th
Squadron in Columbia, South Carolina. He trained there in a B-25 Mitchell medium
bomber and was promoted to Tech Sgt. He was then ordered to overseas duty in
the Middle Eastern Theatre. In February
of 1943, John, as radio operator and gunner in the plane “Stardust,” flew with
the rest of the five man crew to Africa where the met their ground echelon at
the Suez canal. Combat missions were
flown in Tunisia, Sicily, Italy and in areas throughout the Mediterranean
Theatre. Having completed 50 bombing missions,
he was awarded the Air Medal with eight-oak-leaf clusters, Victory Medal,
Mid-East Medal, and a Presidential Unit citation. After the 41st mission the plane crash-landed
in the sea. The crew was recommended for the Distinguish Flying Cross.
Upon
return to the U.S.A. John entered officer candidate training in Miami, Florida
where he was commissioned 2
nd
Lt. Air Force. He completed his time in the service as a
Special Service Officer assigned to Godman Field, Kentucky. While there, he met his future wife Jackie
Macarthur.
John
returned to radio in Toledo and in 1947 John and Jackie were married. In 1948 they moved to California where he was
hired in 1949 as a staff announcer at KTTV Channel 11. Subsequently, and for 18 years (1952 – 1970)
he hosted a children’s program as “Sheriff John.” Among many other awards, he was honored in
1953 with an “Emmy” award for best children’s program. John always loved music and some of his songs
are still being sung today; e.g., “Birthday Polka” (put another candle on your
birthday cake) and “Laugh and Be Happy”.
John also worked at KTTV as a staff announcer from 1949 – 1981 when he
retired and moved to Boise, Idaho. In
September of 1998, John was honored in Los Angeles at the 50
th
anniversary
of the Emmy Awards.
John
took great joy and comfort in his faith and for many years attended Fellowship
Baptist Church and Boise Friends Church where he was a regular lay reader of
scripture and a vocalist.
John was
preceded in death by his parents and sister Lucille. Survivors include wife Jacqueline, of
Glendale, California, daughters, Sandra Kaiser, Maricopa, Arizona, and Wendy Maceri,
Northridge, California; grandchildren Robby, Kimberly, Gina, Michael, and
Maggie; one great-grandchild Allison Peterson and niece Luanne Koessel and
nephews Bill and Gary Shryer.
A
funeral service will be held at 1:00 p.m. Thursday, October 11, 2012 at the
Boise Friends Church – 7751 Goddard Road Boise, ID 83704. Burial will follow at Dry Creek cemetery with
Military Honors.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of John Desmond Rovick, Jr., please visit our flower store.
Guestbook
Visits: 2
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the
Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
