BOONE, Iowa—John A. Doran, age 82 of Boone, IA, died Tuesday, September 23, 2025, at Westhaven Community from pancreatic cancer. Funeral services will be on Friday, October 3, 2025, at 10:30 a.m. at Central Christian Church in Boone. Interment will be at Bass Point Cemetery north of Boone following the funeral service. Visitation with the family present to greet friends will be from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 2, 2025, at Schroeder-Stark-Welin Funeral Home in Boone.
John Andrew Doran was born in Boone, IA, on August 4, 1943, the son of Leslie G. and Dollie E. (Mann) Doran. John graduated from Boone High School in 1961 and then studied for one year at Boone Junior College (now Des Moines Area Community College). John transferred to Iowa State University in Ames, IA, graduating in 1965 with his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering.
John began his 32.5 year engineering career with Standard Oil of California (now Chevron Oil Company) in 1965. He started in La Habra, CA, with the company Offshore Group and lived in Long Beach. John transferred to the main branch in San Francisco in 1971. He worked in a variety of roles, designing equipment for offshore drilling on the floor of the ocean, and later serving as a safety engineer and trainer. Between 1982 and 2003, John traveled to over 40 different countries, merging his love for his work with his love for travel and adventure. He made lifelong friends all over the world. For the last 4.5 years of his career, John worked in Kazakhstan developing oil fields, living part-time abroad and part-time in San Francisco.
John enjoyed good food, good wine, good conversation, hosting events, and bringing people together. He liked helping others however he could and shared his knowledge and expertise when friends asked for advice on all kinds of construction projects, visualizing solutions and making them happen. John had a wide range of interests, which included: gardening and horticulture, the outdoors, art, and collecting antiques and artifacts from his travels. John had a fondness for antique and classic cars that began while in high school with the purchase of his first car, a 1931 Model A Ford, which he kept for the rest of his life.
John enjoyed his life in San Francisco, appreciating the diversity of people, perspectives, cultures, fine food, and living near the ocean, while always holding a fondness for his Iowa roots. In 2011, John designed and did much of the interior finishing work on a new home in rural Boone, living in Iowa while spending winters in San Francisco. He was a member of Central Christian Church and the Masons, Mt. Olive Lodge #79 AF & AM.
John was quick-witted with a keen sense of humor. He was a friend to all.
John was preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by his sister Mary Lou (Homer) Brown of Las Cruces, NM; sister Margaret Stone of Boone, IA; nephew Brian Edgar and his children Allison and Logan all of St. Peters, MO; nephew Aaron (Malorie Gilbert) Edgar of Loveland, CO; nephews Matt Stone and Ben Stone both of Boone, IA; niece Cara Stone of Ames, IA; and numerous cousins and friends from around the world.
John’s family thanks Dr. Greco and the staff at Bliss Cancer Center and Mary Greeley Medical Center. The family is also grateful for the excellent and compassionate care John received in his final weeks while at Westhaven Community.
Memorials may be directed to the family to be used according to John’s wishes.
Schroeder-Stark-Welin Funeral Home, 609 7th Street, Boone, Iowa is assisting the family with these arrangements.
John Doran, 82, Boone, Iowa
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