H. John Ornelas, 79, of Sabetha, KS, formerly of Seneca, died Friday, February 6, 2004, at the Apostolic Christian Home in Sabetha. He had been in ill health for some time and was receiving kidney dialysis.

He was born February 10, 1924, in Kansas City, MO, the son of Sylvester and Mary Linda Gomez Ornelas. He grew up there, attending Guardian Angel School, Westport Junior High School and Ward High School. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in February 1941 and served as a seaman on the battleship USS Texas. During World War II he spent 3 ½ years as a gunner on the destroyer USS Davison and on the minesweeper USS PCE-845 in the European theater. He was discharged in January 1947 from active duty to the Naval Reserves.

In 1950 he was recalled into the regular Navy during the Korean Conflict, which began a long stint of active duty. He served at the U.S. Naval Ammunition Depot in Yokosuka, Japan, on the destroyer USS Fisker, at the submarine base at New London, CT, on the destroyer USS Joseph P. Kennedy, and later on the oil tanker USS Caloosahatchee in the Mediterranean Sea. He was discharged in December 1964, after accumulating 20 years active service, plus four years in reserve.

In March of 1944, he married Anna J. Chiantella in Norfolk, VA. They lived in Whitestone, Long Island, NY. They had four children. His wife Anna preceded him in death in 1984. He was also preceded in death by his three sons, Aldo Ornelas in 2003; Anthony Ornelas, who had served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam, receiving a purple heart and a bronze star, in 1992; and Jack Ornelas, who died in action in Vietnam in 1969 while serving in the U.S. Marines.

In 1986 he returned to Kansas City. On May 5, 1990, he married Mary Catherine Stegeman at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Redemptorist Catholic Church in Kansas City, MO. They lived in Kansas City until 1997 when they moved to Seneca. They moved to Sabetha in the fall of 1999 so John could be nearby for his dialysis treatments.

He was a member of St. Mary’s Church in St. Benedict, and a former member of Redemptorist Church, where he served as an usher, the Fleet Reserve Organization in MD, and the U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation in Washington D.C.

Survivors are his wife Mary Catherine of Sabetha; a daughter, Ninetta La Russo of Flemington, NJ; two grandsons and a granddaughter.

Besides his parents, his wife Anna and three sons, he was preceded in death by a sister, Rosemary Lara.

Mass of Christian burial will be 11 AM Monday at St. Mary’s Church in St. Benedict. Burial will be with full military honors in the church cemetery. A rosary will be prayed at 2 PM Sunday at Lauer Funeral Home in Seneca.

Memorials may be given for St. Mary’s Church in St. Benedict, and sent in care of the family.