John Dwight Day

There will be a memorial service March 12 at 1 p.m. for Mr. John Dwight Day who went to be with Jesus Feb. 17, 2022. The service will be held at the Plains Bible Chapel, 8 Combust Creek Road in Plains, and all members of the community are invited to come and celebrate the life of this amazing man.

After John retired from his railroad job he purchased land in Sanders County where he built his own house from the ground up and raised his family. He was a friend to all he met, often helping others with things such as felling trees, collecting fire wood, fixing fences, repairing tractors and other equipment, fighting fires, cattle roundups, and snow removal.

He was a cowboy and a woodsman. He never seemed to find a task too difficult to do, and he was a master at solving problems and inventing ways to accomplish a job or a repair.

He did not make money helping those who had needs as his friendship and labor was free of charge. He was a giving man because, as he said so many times, “God gives to me and I give to others.”

John’s youth was one of hardships and he would often recall how he and his brother and sisters would have gone hungry if it hadn’t been for potatoes that his mother would cook and serve regularly. So, being aware that some people in Plains were poor, he used his 1950s era dump truck to drive over to a farmer friend in St. Ignatius where he was given potatoes that were not correct in size and shape for the commercial market. He would then bring them back to his house where friends would help him unload and store them in his root cellar. He would then distribute them in town to anyone who wanted to have them. As a result of this food ministry, he became affectionally known as ‘the potato man’.

John attended many community churches but finally made the Plains Bible Chapel his home. He started playing the piano “by ear” about six years ago and would go to church early and play the piano before the church service started. He loved music, particularly jazz, but also enjoyed Country Gospel and Blue Grass.

He loved the LORD Jesus Christ and read his King James Bible every day and attended Bible study with a few friends on a regular basis. His favorite book of the Bible was Revelation and his favorite verses in that book were as follows: Revelation 1:8 which states, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” And Revelation 22:12-14 “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.”

So although John is missed and will continue to be missed, he has entered those gates of the Heavenly city and is now with his LORD and Savior, Jesus Christ.