John Robert Shrader, 92, passed away Wednesday, January 6, 2016.

John was born in Stevenson, AL on May 7, 1923 to George and Bessie Shrader. He attended schools in Alabama and Tennessee, graduating from High School in Chattanooga. He attended Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, GA.

While a student at Georgia Tech, he worked part time at H. M. Patterson & Son Funeral Home. During this time, President Franklin D. Roosevelt died in Warm Springs, GA and Patterson's Funeral Home was called by the White House to travel to Warm Springs to embalm the President and prepare him for his final trip to Hyde Park, NY. John was asked to go along with the five-member team. Over the years, several people have interviewed him in preparation for writing an article or a book about the death of FDR. There is also a video of an interview with him in the archives at the Little White House in Warm Springs, GA.

John served his country in the Navy during WWII. Upon returning to Atlanta, he went back to work at Patterson's Funeral Home until his retirement 51 years later. A few years later, he and his wife retired to Pensacola.

As long as he was able, be loved to work in his yard and had a "green thumb." He was a member of the Pensacola Camellia Club for a number of years and helped with the annual flower show.

John is survived by his wife, Alma Jean Harper Shrader; two sisters, Dorothy Spurlock and Esther Wilhite (Bob); one brother, Jere Shrader (Phyllis). He was predeceased by his parents and one brother, Larry Shrader (Doris).

A Memorial Visitation will be held Friday, January 8, 2016 from 1-3pm at Harper-Morris Memorial Chapel. A Memorial Service will be held at a later date in Atlanta, GA.

The family would like to thank Dr. Amos Prevatt and his staff, the ladies at Broadview Memory Care and the staff at Covenant Hospice for their kind care of John.

Anyone wishing to make a gift of remembrance for John is asked to consider Covenant Hospice, 5041 N 12th Ave., Pensacola, FL 32504.