San Andreas, CA. John Michael Stark passed away Sunday, January 17 at St Joseph's Hospital in Stockton, from complications of emphysema, with his family at his bedside. He was 72. John was born on Monday, October 18, 1943 in San Francisco. He spent his elementary school years in San Francisco and moved to Cupertino for his high school years. While at Cupertino High School he met Sophia (Sue) Paizis. They were married soon after high school in 1965.
John was a US Air Force Security Police K9 Unit dog handler. In his last year of military service (November 1965-November-1966) he was assigned to the 366th Security Police Squadron (DaNang & Phan Rang) handling "Buddy-A601" in Vietnam. On his return to civilian life he and Sue began their family and he enrolled at San Jose State University. John graduated from college with a teaching credential. Before he could get a teaching job John was offered a position at the Humboldt County Sheriffs Department as a Correctional Officer. In the year he was at Humboldt County he put himself through the Police Academy during the day and worked at the jail at night for several months.
In 1977, upon graduation from the academy, he took a job at the Calaveras County Sheriffs Department as a Patrol Deputy. He soon had a K9 partner named Fred. "Stark and Bark" were well known in the county. ln 1983 John left the Sheriff's Department to work for the California Department of Fish and Game as a warden. He retired from Fish and Game in 2003. From 1991 until his wife retired in 2010, during his days off from the State, John would work extra hire for the Calaveras County Sheriffs Department.
John loved the outdoors and spent much of his time traveling to different parts of the world. He was an active member of the Calaveras Caravaners and enjoyed traveling with Sue and his dog to their outings. He was an active member of the Vietnam Dog Handler Association and attended most of the yearly reunions at March Air Field in Riverside, CA.
John liked to use his hands to work with metal and wood, and enjoyed photography. He took many honors for his pictures.
John is survived by his wife of 50 years, Sue, and his two sons Michael Stark of San Andreas and Gregory and Jana Stark of Valley Springs, his grandchildren Callie and Evan Stark, and his sisters Linda Stark and Scarlett Johnson both of Napa, CA.
Their will be a public viewing Monday, January 25, from 5 PM to 7 PM at the San Andreas Memorial Chapel, 254W. St. Charles St., San Andreas, CA. The funeral will be Tuesday, January 26, at 11 AM at the St. Basil Greek Orthodox Church, 920 W. March Lane, Stockton, CA. lnterment will be at Sunset View Cemetery, 10200 Highway 88, Jackson, CA. Memorial contributions would be appreciated to the American Lung Association.
Condolences:
Good Morning Everyone,
I am saddened to report the passing of former Calaveras County Deputy Sheriff and California Department of Fish & Game Warden John Stark. John is the father of our own Sergeant Greg Stark.
I would like to take a moment of your time to talk about John Stark.
John began working for the Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office on October 4, 1977. He was a Deputy Sheriff assigned to patrol division. John was also a proud K-9 handler and his first K-9 partner was Fred. John worked here at a time when you had to be very self-reliant as a Deputy Sheriff. Most of the time you worked alone or with one other Deputy who was across the county.
John left full-time employment with the Sheriff’s Office and began working for CDFG as a Game Warden in 1983. While working with CDFG John worked the Delta area. He retired from CDFG in 2003. John also continued with the CCSO working as an Extra Hire Deputy from 1991 and proudly retired from the CCSO in 2010. John worked the Courts, Boat Patrol and regular patrol. For those of you counting, John worked two jobs at the same time. John was married to his wife Sophia “Sue” Stark and raised two boys. During this time, many CCSO Deputies worked two jobs to support and care for their families. John was incredibly proud of his family and especially proud of his son Greg who followed in his footsteps.
John was a little different from the other deputies in that he really worked all the time. Throughout the mid- late 1990s if you saw John he was always in one uniform or another and always seemed to be working. John also served as a Detective.
I personally worked with John as a Deputy Sheriff and as a Game Warden. He was a hard worker and never complained about long hours and many work days without time off. He was also always willing to jump in and take any assignment.
For those of you who did not know John he was very fond of dogs. He had a special place in his heart for working dogs. John was a K-9 handler during the Vietnam War and stayed involved in association(s) supporting military working dogs and those veterans who supported and worked with military dogs.
John was a member of the “Old Guard” in law enforcement. The “Old Guard” was a generation of law enforcement officers who conducted business very differently than most of us do today. Many of them are war veterans. It is hard to describe everything this generation did and how they conducted their business into a single email. A few important things that I can say about that generation is that they were swift with justice, proud, very hardworking and you never heard them complain. If you are a young Deputy Sheriff and have not yet spent some time with this generation, please take the time. I am certainly better off having worked with many of them and it was an honor and a pleasure to have gotten to know and work with John.
Jim Macedo,
Captain
Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office
Government Center
San Andreas, California
(209) 754-6500
