John Richard Halvorsen

John Richard Halvorsen June 23, 1940 – January 7, 2023 John Richard Halvorsen of Madison, WI, passed away on January 7, 2023, in Nashville TN. He is survived by his children, Ronald Paul Halvorsen, Deborah Jean Gidney, Susan Diane Butler, grandchildren: John, Jeannie, Lauren, Karen, Curtis, James, Ryan, Helen, Hannah, Ellie and Anna, and great-grandchildren: Everett, Lucy, Levi, Olive, Henry and Adysen; sister, Barbara Jean Weichers; brothers, Ronald Gary Halvorsen and James Paul Halvorsen; stepsisters, Virginia Class Johnston and Marilyn Class Doss. John is remembered as a loving, fun father and grandfather who was generous to a fault. Always quick to pull a prank or tell a corny joke, his grandchildren loved their time with him. He loved to play golf, fish, swim, go to baseball games, play games with his kids and grandchildren. He was an avid reader and loved doing crossword puzzles. Anyone who knew him knows he loved to make people smile and laugh. John was born in Madison, Wisconsin and lived in the suburb of Maple Bluff. After graduating from University of Wisconsin he accepted a job as a Buyer with Sears and moved to Kentucky with his wife, Karen. Throughout their marriage they moved several times for his work, living in Chicago, New Jersey, Texas, and Georgia. John spent over twenty years with Sears as a National Bra Buyer. He had the chance to travel all over the world and was well respected in his role. He was a winner of the Sears Tower Award for outstanding achievements. John left Sears and worked for a couple other small retail firms before retiring from the corporate life. He was living in Dallas at the time and decided to buy a small neighborhood bar. He first had the 777 Club and later bought a bar called Drinks. As his children grew up, married and started to have children he decided to retire from the bar business. He moved to Asheville, NC where he and his son opened a glass/windshield replacement business. He loved his time living near the mountains and he took up fly fishing. John’s next stop was Daytona Beach. He always loved the ocean, and he had some friends in the area, so he headed south. He loved having his family visit him there and was always proud to say that he was with each of his grandchildren the first time they caught a fish. Miraculously, each of those “first” fish were always large enough to feed the family that evening. He would help each child scale and debone the fish and then fry it up for dinner. John eventually decided that he wanted to live closer to family and he moved to Nashville where his youngest daughter and her family lived. This was convenient to both Texas and North Carolina, where his other children lived, so he was able to be close to all his loved ones. Since his passing we have heard from many friends and family with stories of his shenanigans. He was quite the mischief maker, and these stories continue to make us laugh and smile. A private family celebration of life will be held at a later date. Arrangements in the care of Compassion Funeral & Cremation Services, 6949 Charlotte Pike, Nashville, TN (615) 857-9955. We proudly remain locally owned & operated.