John Holman Whitworth

On July 23, 1951 God gave us the gift of John "Jay" Holman Whitworth. He was born to George and Helen Louise Whitworth in Rural Colon, Michigan. He was the first of six children followed by Sharon Lee, Calvin Raye (deceased), Shirley Jean, Stephen Joseph and Colleen Tracy.
George and Louise with a very young John moved to central California where they lived in various towns like Galt, Lodi and Oroville during his childhood.
From an early age John showed an affinity for all things mechanical and had a gifting for a mechanical ability; this would lead to his eventual profession as an auto mechanic.
John joined the United States Marine Corps in 1968 as an automotive mechanic and served his country proudly for over 9 years active duty and 4 years reserve duty. Like all Marines, he was patriotic and proud of his service to his country.
About a year after joining the Marine Corps, John met Patricia Ann Warfield, they married, settled in southern California and soon had their son John "JW" Warfield Whitworth. John and Pat divorced in 1986 and it was at this time John deviated from working as an auto mechanic and started a business as a tool salesman for Cornwell tools.
This business he brought w/ him upon moving back to the Sacramento Valley area. During this time John began attending Abundant Life Center and his church family life began to flourish. Once again he found himself utilizing his automotive skills helping to fix church members' cars which started to grow into an increasing side business w/ more and more requests for his assistance and decreasing sales with the tool business – God's hand was clear in all this.
In 1989 with $500 start-up capital John opened John's Auto Care in Loomis, CA returning to his auto mechanic roots. Also around this time he met his future sweetheart Christine Faris.
John and Christine were married May 7th, 1994 in the lush Biblical Gardens, Grass Valley, CA. John arrived looking so handsome, dressed to the nines in his tux, driving the yellow and white 57 Chevy, to ride off in the sunset with his beautiful bride, Christine. Initially they made their home in Granite Bay, CA.
While visiting "Bill's Apples and Felice's Dolls" at Apple Hill, they found their house on the hill. It was everything they wanted in a home; quiet and peaceful, warm with hospitality, full of love, laughter, and faith.
John loved to go many places, traveling together with Christine. They would hop in his truck, he would take her by the hand and say, "Let's go see what's over the next hill," or "down that road". From Mexico, to Alaska, the beaches of California, to Tennessee...he loved to go, and she loved his spirit! One very memorable and beautiful experience they shared was John taking her in his boat overnight to Pier 39. It was very special, being in the absolute darkness, with the brilliant lights of San Francisco as the only light for just the two to behold.
They worked together side by side in the business that he created from a mere thought...an idea; he developed it, perfected it, took a leap of faith, combined with incredible God-given skills and God's blessings. What we have today is the highly successful, 10 bay automotive repair business that is now John's Auto Care Inc.
John's life was not limited to just his automotive skill. He was an inventor and a tinkerer – often coming up with contraptions and functional designs using objects lying around the house and an ability to redesign or modify things to make them work a little better.
John's life was also marked by a love for friends and family. He was a man known by friends and family to be willing to use his skills and abilities to help out if at all possible. He always was willing to drop what he was doing to help in anyway he could. John also was always quick to make people laugh with his "corny jokes". He was a man willing to try and had a way to encourage others to stretch themselves to try new things they didn't think they were capable of with an exhibited calm confidence and belief in their potential.
God demonstrated His love for John, blessing him, keeping him close, and John's faith grew throughout his life...exponentially during his illness. His faith was strong and pure. As his health took some steps forward and many steps back intermittently, his faith in God remained true. It was not dependent on steps forward or getting his heart's desire. He felt the presence of God, knew His will is done, and is now rejoicing in His presence.

He is survived by his wife Christine; his son John W Whitworth and step children R. Charles Abernethy, Lori-Michelle Willet, David J Abernethy; siblings Sharon Lee, Shirley Jean, Stephen Joseph and Colleen Tracy . He is preceded in death by parents George and Louise and brother Calvin Raye.