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JOHN 1Lt. John Per Ellis Watterberg, November 20, 1915 - July 29, 2011. Beloved father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and above all cherished husband of Leah for 66 years. A lovely, gentle man, John was born in Minnesota to tall Swedish stock and served in the Army during WWII. He was an engineer with the signal corps across Africa and into Italy, where he contracted polio. Sent back to the States for rehabilitation, he met Leah Fox, his physical therapist, who always says she "got him when he was flat on his back and couldn't get away". Although his legs were paralyzed, he returned to graduate engineering studies and held a job as the engineer for radio station WLOL in Minneapolis at the same time. They left Minnesota for Albuquerque in 1951, when John was hired as an engineer at Sandia National Laboratories. He retired in 1979. John and Leah fell under the spell of the Land of Enchantment, spending countless weekends Jeeping in the outback, enjoying the southwest landscape. He learned to play guitar later in life and loved to strum and sing. He also loved technology, and had some of the first computers available. After retirement, he and Leah built their dream house in the foothills, where they grew a magnificent garden and enjoyed the panorama of New Mexico, watching the weather pass over the valley and reporting as a weather substation. John and Leah had four children, of whom they were extremely proud. John was predeceased by his son, Lt. Colonel Jeffrey John Watterberg, a pilot in the Air Force, and is survived by his wife; his other three children, Phillip, Kristi and her husband Ron Poland, Peter and his wife Tina; his nine grandchildren Aimee Soodan, Joshua Johnson, Jennifer Johnson Thomas, Jessie Johnson, Emily Watterberg, Sarah Skye Watterberg, John Allen Watterberg, Joy Petersen, and Jaqueline Watterberg; and six great-grandchildren. His family was his life, and in return he graced their lives with his warmth, wit, intelligence and beautiful smile. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Disabled Veterans (DAV) at 2001 Foothill Dr. SW, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87105 or the Wounded Warrior Project at P.O. Box 758517, Topeka, KS 66675-8517 or online at www.woundedwarriorproject.org. Please visit our online guestbook for John at RememberTheirStory.com Lovingly Pre-planned at FRENCH 10500 Lomas Blvd. NE (505) 275-3500
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