Carbondale, IL
John Russell Rider
2021
John Russell Rider passed away peacefully on February 17, 2021 at the age of 97 at Manor Court in Carbondale, IL, where he had lived since 2015. John, also known as Papa, was born in Westfield, IL on April 19, 1923. He was the son of Frederick Castle Rider and Alice Arminta (Zellers) Rider. John grew up in a musical household in Westfield, IL, where he could see his grandparents' house from his front porch and sang in the church choir with his father. He enrolled at Indiana Central College in fall 1941, but put his studies on hold and enlisted in the United States Navy in 1942. He received the rank of Lieutenant (junior grade) and served in the South Pacific from 1942 to 1946, as first...
