John "Jack" Louis Ranweiler

John “Jack” Louis Ranweiler, 79, beloved husband, father, and grandfather, died peacefully on October 16, 2025 at home in Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico. He was a former resident of Alaska, having lived in Ketchikan, Sitka, and Homer.

Jack was born on September 15, 1946, to Louis and Elizabeth Ranweiler in St. Cloud, Minnesota. After graduation, he joined the Marine Corps and served in Vietnam. Jack had a love of fishing, even as a young boy fishing with his father and uncles in Minnesota. When he moved to Ketchikan in 1969, he participated in a salmon derby and realized that he wanted to become a commercial fisherman. He and his first wife, June Tangen Ranweiler, and their children moved to Sitka in 1974. He fished almost all the Alaska fisheries (salmon, halibut, black cod, tuna, crab) and dove for abalone and sea cucumbers. After Jack and June divorced, he moved to Homer to continue his commercial fishing career. He wrote about his 30 years of fishing adventures in the book, For the Love of Fishing.

Jack married Linda Weikel in 1999 in Homer, Alaska. They spent winters in the village of Yelapa, Mexico, and moved to Taos in 2003. Besides fishing, Jack loved hunting, hiking, traveling around the world, flying his small planes, paragliding, and kite surfing. He was a master craftsman: over the years he built a fishing boat (the Amanda Rose), a beautiful log home, many pieces of furniture, and a biplane.

Jack is survived by his wife Linda, daughter Patti (Dwayne) Edwards, son Gary Ranweiler, stepdaughter Terra Weikel, stepson Jeremy Weikel, six grandchildren (Tayler, Matthew, Jacob, Ian, Athena, and Sylvain), and his sister Jane Gill.

He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Robert, and his sisters Sally, Lynn, Carole, and Joan.

A celebration of Jack’s life will be held in the near future. In lieu of flowers, please send donations in his memory to Mountain Home Health Care, whose Palliative and Hospice Care teams provided excellent care to Jack and support for the family.