John Jenien Mah, Sr.
September 2, 1934 - March 15, 2022
Obituary
John Jenien Mah, Sr., age 87, passed away on Tuesday, March 15, 2022. He was born on September 2, 1934 in Shanghai, China, and emigrated to the United States in the late 1950s.
While in China, he attended a Reserve Officers Training program, and graduated as Second Lieutenant. As a part of the Department of Defense, he interfaced with the American Embassy as a translator. His credentials helped him to complete his Bachelor’s degree at the College of Emporia in Kansas.
John was driven, multi-faceted, and loved to travel. He held various information technology positions, first starting as a news desk editor at Time-Life magazine, then moving to Chase Manhattan Bank in NYC. He also held positions at Lockheed and NASA in Houston; Eastern Airlines in Miami; Bechtel in San Francisco; and as a Computer Analyst at Boeing in Seattle.
John met his beloved wife Helen Theresa (Wu) Mah of Brooklyn, NY, while studying to earn his Master’s degree at NYU. Helen, who was studying at Columbia University, met John at a joint college dance. She loved his curly hair and the way he twisted on the dance floor.
John enjoyed navigating to new places and learning about different cultures, which took him and Helen around the world a handful of times. They both enjoyed traveling internationally. We found an interesting document that he wrote when he was 71; by the time he was that age, he had personally traveled to China 28 times; Europe, 41, and South America, 31. But he called Seattle his home, spending the last 40 years of his life here, and living close to the airport so that he could easily catch his next flight.
John was a devoted husband, father and grandfather. When each grandchild was born, he was the first one to be on a plane to meet his new young relative.
John was preceded in death by his father, Luching Chon-chow, and his mother, Pearl Shaw-Tze, both of Shanghai, China.
John was loved and will be missed by his wife, Helen, of 59 years (it would have been 60 in July); daughter Jackie Mahoney and husband, Bill of Lakeland, FL; son John, Jr. of Rocklin, CA; Elaine Mah of Silverthorne, CO; and seven grandchildren: John Mahoney of Indianapolis; Julie Mahoney of Chicago; Brandon Mah of Boulder, CO; Jessica Mah (preceded); and triplets, Monica Mah of Lafayette, IN, Nicole Mah of Denver, and Jennifer Mah of San Francisco. He was extremely proud of his children and grandchildren.
To see family photos and see the livestream link of the memorial service, please go to: https://my.gather.app/remember/john-mah-sr
You are missed Mr. John Mah, but my memories will always be fond, as your occasional taxi driver to Sea-Tac on the way to high school with John Jr.
John Mah, Sr. was fun to be around! A shrewd operator/investor, he was always curious and enthusiastic about new ideas and traveled extensively to experience the world. As a son-in-law, I could always sense how protective he was of his family and loved ones. My kids enjoy sharing their “Grandpa Mah stories” and learned valuable life lessons from him. He was welcoming to me and had an immense impact on his children. His love and devotion to his wife, Helen, was always evident. RIP John Mah, Sr., and God bless Helen, Jackie, and John, Jr.
I have always known John Mah Sr. as Grandpa Mah. He had an easy smile, and his go to pose was a two piece signs with his arms out. Grandpa always called for birthdays and would always begin the call with “THIS IS GRANDPA AND GRANDMA MAH, CALLING FROM SEATTLE , WASHINGTON.” He was used to traveling, so he always added where he was calling from. He tried to keep up with all the grandkids by calling once a week. I still remember taking calls between classes or at lunch and chatting about how Purdue football was doing and how school was going. Grandpa was a very sentimental person, who kept small things that connected him to different memories. I inherited that tendency as I became a scrapbooker. I’m glad I got to see him for his 87 birthday. We ate lots of Chinese food, which was always his favorite. I hope wherever he is now, he has a buffet of Chinese food waiting for him.