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John Dennis Hargrave

September 8, 1988 - March 21, 2022
Milwaukee, WI

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Life Story / Obituary


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John Dennis Hargrave, 33, of Greenfield, WI, passed away. John was born on September 8, 1988 to Dennis Arthur Hargrave (late) and Carrie Sue Trehus Hargrave in Rockford, IL. John attended elementary school at White Swan/ Cherry Valley Elementary and Luther Academy at Alpine of Alpine Lutheran Church. He attended Rockford Lutheran Junior and Senior High School graduating in the Class of 2007. His high school activities included playing the trumpet, which allowed him to travel to Disney World to play with the band. He enjoyed learning about physics with a group that traveled to Fermilab, America’s particle physics and accelerator laboratory near Chicago. He spent his summers working for the IT department at the high school and developed a passion for building computers. Two weeks before his high school graduation, John lost his best friend, his dad, to colon cancer. After high school, John went on to attend Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana where he studied Mechanical Engineering. While in college, John spent time in Germany touring engineering facilities where he was also able to use his German speaking skills. He also served as a network fellow as well as a media services fellow which allowed John the opportunity to serve as a videographer for a basketball game that aired on ESPN. John also served as Senior Design Project Leader for his senior engineering design project working on a medical device for people with autism. He also had summer internships at NTS (Rockford, IL) where he later went on to serve as a Project Engineer. In 2013, John relocated to Milwaukee, WI. He was employed as a Test Engineer with JW Speaker (Germantown, WI) as well as a Senior Test Engineer at Everbrite (Greenfield, WI) for 6 years. John’s most recent professional accomplishments included founding a technical and engineering consulting company, Hargrave AI, LLC.

From the time he was a child, John always had a keen mind and an interest in figuring out how things worked, which grew into his career in Engineering and a passion for decoding puzzles and problem-solving. He developed many technical skills in his spare time, from building computers and servers, to video editing, to creating apps. He shared a love of a good cup of espresso with his family. He enjoyed walking the Lake Michigan Waterfront with his dog, Atlas, coffee in hand. John was an avid reader. He had a full wall of bookshelves lined with books. He spent many hours reading science fiction novels and his favorite series, Harry Potter; he enjoyed discussing their plots and even more so, the interpretation and ideas behind them. He enjoyed and found meaning in well-crafted art and beautiful music, especially Dvork’s 9th, his favorite symphony. John also enjoyed painting scenic landscapes on canvas. He enjoyed cooking and aimed for perfection in the kitchen while trying out complicated recipes, and he was always happy to share tips from his culinary experiments. John gave every conversation his full attention, and his thoughtful and measured responses in conversations were always insightful. Overall, John was loyal, kind-hearted and sensitive; his warm smile and his laugh were a joy and he will be deeply missed by all who knew him.

John leaves behind his loving family: mother, Carrie Hargrave (Rockford,IL); sister, Aubrey Hargrave (Nripun Sredar, both of East Palo Alto, CA); sister, Lauren Hargrave (Rockford, IL); paternal grandmother, Dorothy Hargrave (Franklin, WI); maternal grandmother, Elsie Trehus (Racine, WI); step-grandmother, Greta Hargrave (Racine, WI); aunts Diane Niles (David Allard), Cindy Kristopeit, Michelle Hansen, Connie (Tom) Meredith, Pam Locke; uncle David (Sally) Hargrave; many cousins and dear friends, including his best friend for the last 5 years, his beloved dog Atlas. John is preceded in death by his father, Dennis Arthur Hargrave; paternal grandfather, Clarence Hargrave; maternal grandfather, Richard Trehus; uncle James Hansen, Michael Nilles, and Peter Harwood.

John is dearly loved and he will be missed beyond words. Rest peacefully, John.

Complete funeral services will be held Saturday, April 2, 2022 at Maresh-Meredith & Acklam Funeral Home, 803 Main St, Racine, WI. Visitation will be from 11AM-12PM with funeral service at 12PM followed by interment at West Lawn Memorial Park, Racine, WI. A memorial service will be held on Sunday, April 3, 2022 at Alpine Lutheran Church, 5001 Forest View Ave, Rockford, IL with a visitation at 2:30PM and memorial service following at 3:30PM. Memorials to the family have been suggested. Family requests all in attendance wear masks, which will be provided.

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