John M. Austin Sr.

Army veteran and former Washoe Tribe personnel officer John M. Austin Sr., 72, died Feb. 22, 2009,

Born May 4, 1936, in Providence, R.I. on Rhode Island Independence Day and its tricentennial year, he served honorably as an Army and Marine paratrooper from 1953 to 1963.

He was a private pilot from 1966 to 1978. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in business administration from California State University Northridge in December 1974. He spent 25 years in human resources working for a number of large corporations and retired from the Washoe Tribe in November 2000.

Mr. Austin was a life member of the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

He is survived by his wife of 25 years, Marilyn; son John Jr.; two daughters April and Christine; seven grandchildren; his Airborne buddies and other close friends.