John Elashkar

John Elashkar, 72, of Traverse City passed away on October 8, 2015 of complications relating to recovery from open heart surgery. John was born on January 22, 1943 in Beirut, Lebanon to the late Elia El Ashkar and Aysha (Yared) El Ashkar. He came to this country when he was 26 years of age, already having obtained his engineering degree from American University in Beirut, and began working at Lansing Board of Water and Light as a civil engineer. He became a U.S. citizen and lived in the U.S. for the rest of his life. John married Catherine A. Terze on March 20, 1976. She died on May 12, 1982, no children having been born during their marriage. He was a widower for ten years, until he married Eleanor Elaine (Powell) Lynn on April 4th, 1992. He became the instant stepparent of his two daughters, Cynthia Jennifer Lynn and Stephanie Christine Lynn, at that time and was the best father to them anyone could ever hope for. John has been a very loving, kind, generous grandfather to Madelynn and Carter. John also had a very special relationship with his nephew, Fady Tawil, whom John sponsored for immigration to this country and assisted Fady in obtaining his degree in engineering as well, and that special relationship extends to Fady’s wife, Teresa, and their two sons, Daniel and Nicholas. John dedicated more than thirty years to Lansing Board of Water and Light, with many promotions along the way that included Engineering Supervisor, Superintendent of Project Engineering, Director of Professional Engineering and Technical Services, and he retired as Assistant General Manager in 2000, after which he and Eleanor moved to Traverse City for their retirement. Even after he retired, he was called back to BWL in 2002-2003 to serve as the Interim General Manager for almost a year. He accomplished many projects during his tenure at BWL and was well recognized for his many contributions in the areas of civil and architectural engineering as well as information systems, environmental services construction services, business management, and managerial expertise. Under his leadership, BWL engineered and constructed over $443 million of capital improvements. Perhaps the most prominent and well known of John’s projects was his design and oversight of the construction of BWL’s modern electrostatic precipitators and three power plant chimneys towering 624 feet above the Eckert Power Station, permanently changing the skyline of Lansing. Those three towers were designated the “John Elashkar Monuments” by Board Resolution and the City of Lansing on May 20, 2000, with a plaque commemorating John’s many accomplishments and his career at BWL affixed at the Eckert Power Station. After retirement (and re-retirement), John studied and sat for the Series 7 and Series 63 SEC exams for licensure and certification as a stockbroker and financial consultant, passing both exams easily on his first try. John also served on and chaired the Peninsula Township Planning Commission, the Peninsula Township Zoning Board of Appeals, and the Grand Traverse County Board of Public Works at various times over the last several years. He continued to manage investment portfolios for a select number of clients until shortly before his death. John also served on and chaired the Peninsula Township Planning Commission, the Peninsula Township Zoning Board of Appeals, and the Grand Traverse County Board of Public Works at various times over the last several years. John had a very active mind and always kept himself up-to-date on political matters, world matters, new scientific discoveries, new technological innovations, etc., reading several trade publications and three to four newspapers per day. He was a bit of a computer “geek” with excellent technical skills. He made many DVDs for the family tracking the growth of grandchildren or commemorating a special trip or family reunion. He built, upgraded, and networked computers in his spare time. He was probably the most brilliant person any of us who knew him has ever met. But he was also most definitely the kindest, most generous, most loving, and most patient person you could ever know. His integrity in all matters was without question. He exhibited Lebanese hospitality to all and was very good at giving, but he did not enjoy being the center of attention or having others do for him. He was very self-confident but also humble. John enjoyed travel, and he and Eleanor and sometimes other family members would take very interesting trips to destinations such as Antarctica, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Costa Rica, Hawaii, Alaska, the Virgin Islands, and many other wonderful places. John and Eleanor thoroughly enjoyed their retirement years together. John is survived by his wife Eleanor, his daughters Cynthia Lynn (Norali Pernalete) of Los Angeles, CA, Stephanie (Jason) Shepard of Grawn, MI, grandchildren Madelynn May Shepard and Carter Jason Shepard, special nephew Fady (Teresa) Tawil, special grandnephews Daniel Tawil and Nicholas Tawil. John is also survived by his brothers George and Bechara El Ashkar of Beirut, Lebanon. He leaves behind many treasured cousins, especially Nora, Jerry, Sally, Susie and Butch of the Ellis family in Lansing and Mahfouz Jamal of Beirut, Lebanon, many nieces and nephews, sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law, and many, many good friends who loved him dearly. In addition to his parents and first wife, John was preceded in death by his sister, Victoria Tawil and his special uncle, Habeeb Ellis. Visitation for friends and family will be held on Wednesday, October 14, 2015 from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 pm at the Reynolds-Jonkhoff Funeral Home. A memorial Celebration of Life service will be held in Lansing in the next few weeks, of which further notice will be published. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Childrens Tumor Foundation, 120 Wall Street, 16th Floor, New York, NY 10005-3904, to be used for Neurofibromatosis research. Please visit www.reynolds-jonkhoff.com to sign John’s online guestbook. The family is being cared for by Reynolds-Jonkhoff Funeral Home.

John Elashkar

January 22, 1943 - October 8, 2015