John was raised on the family farm in Carroll Township, Cambria County, Pa. He overtook the family homestead, buying out his siblings’ interests for $1,000 in 1909, and lived there his entire life with his wife Ella and family. In 1931, he died suddenly from a heart attack while working in his garden. His widow Ella sold the farm the following year to Nick Olejyk. The property was then sold to Gerald and Edna Kline in 1941 and then sold to Timothy and Tracy Farabaugh in August of 2009. Timothy is the great-great-grandson of John’s uncle, George Farabaugh.

Ella was a teacher at the time of her marriage. After John's death, she lived in Altoona, Pa.