John Dale Lissoway passed away in Chimayó, New Mexico, on March 18, 2026, surrounded by friends and family after a battle with cancer. He was 84.
John was born on February 12, 1942, in Murphys, California. He grew up in Pioneer in the heart of the Sierra Nevada mountains. He played baseball in high school, and earned a B.S. in Forestry at Humboldt State University. In the summers he worked with Cal Fire where he first experienced wildland fire, which would eventually become his career and passion.
While in college, John was drafted into the U.S. Marine Corps. He completed Officer Candidate School and deployed to Vietnam in 1968. He was wounded during his tour and was sent to the U.S. Naval Hospital, Guam, for medical care. There, he fell in love with a Navy nurse, Bonnie Greene. Once discharged, they married and lived briefly in San Francisco, embracing their postwar life together, deeply bound by their war experiences.
The couple moved to Tucson, AZ, where a chance encounter with the Chief Ranger of Wupatki and Sunset Crater National Monuments, a fellow Marine Corps veteran, led John to join the National Park Service (NPS). In 1975, the young family, which now included daughter Brenna, moved to Bandelier National Monument, NM, where John served out his twenty-five year Park Service career.
While a ranger at Bandelier, John helped establish an innovative national training program for the agency that focused on training staff for management of natural and cultural resources. As Bandelier’s first Resources Manager, he tackled challenges ranging from wild burro eradication, to coordination of the Bandelier Archaeological Survey, to supporting groundbreaking studies of fire ecology on the Pajarito Plateau. Bonnie became a school nurse in nearby Los Alamos, son John Bonner joined the family, and the Lissoways settled into the tight knit Monument community where John pursued many interests including orchard owner, apple cider maker, fisherman, and life-long storyteller.
John loved his work with wildland fire. He served for many seasons in roles such as Safety Officer and Fire Behavior Analyst for fires across the country, including the historic Yellowstone Fires of 1988. He became interested in reestablishing historical fire regimes in the Bandelier area and developed one of the first prescribed fire programs in the NPS, working to reintroduce natural fire to the Monument landscape.
After retiring from NPS, he started his own consulting company and eventually co-founded Wildland Fire Associates in 2001. It was during this entrepreneurial time that John converted an Albuquerque city bus to a wildland fire mobile incident command unit. Following the unexpected death of his wife Bonnie in 2006, John moved to Santa Fe and continued teaching and mentoring indigenous and rural forestry and fire crews around New Mexico. John collaborated with his co-workers, friends, and peers always with his unique combination of humor, generosity, and kindness.
John was an avid supporter of the University of New Mexico Lobo Men’s Basketball team. He also remained a dedicated member of the New Mexico Men’s Wellness Group, maintaining deep friendships forged across forty years. He found a new partner and fellow adventurer, Suellen Strale, with whom he shared his remaining years and many wonderful travels from the Caribbean to Canada.
He is survived by his daughter, Brenna, who followed her father’s footsteps to a Park Service career; his son, Dr. John B. Lissoway and wife Dr. Sophie Peterson; grandsons Rowan and Jonah; and his beloved niece and friend, Holly Neill and husband Wayne; partner Suellen Strale of Chimayó, and countless friends and colleagues whom he touched throughout his life. His fun and quirky personality and one-of-a-kind spirit will be greatly missed.
A celebration of life will be held on November 8, 2026 at 2pm at the Bandelier National Monument Juniper Campground Amphitheater. Carpooling is encouraged and entry fee applies.