John Roger Day
Jan. 30, 1940 – May 12, 2024

John Roger Day, at 84, “crossed the bar” on Sunday, May 12, 2024 at home in Arcata with his wife, Marcella, and other cherished friends by his side.

Born on January 30, 1940 in Fort Scott, Kansas to parents, Randall M. Day and Meda Peebles Day, John grew up in Moran, Kansas. From his childhood to early adulthood, everyone called him Roger. His curious nature would get him into mischief leading to stories he would share later in life. He mentioned that his father would periodically say, “Roger, what’d you do now?” as he’d get into some sort of naughtiness. He loved animals and shared his mother’s whimsical notions of cats such as, “when cats eat standing, they’re having a snack and when they eat while sitting, they’re having a meal.” In his latter adult years, he would be addressed by his first name John. When he moved to the North Coast and took up sea kayaking, the nickname “sea dog” would be added.

At age 21, John embraced the experience of being a smoke jumper for a season with the U.S. Forest Service. With the current events of the time, he would later that year enlist in the U.S. Air Force, serving four years. After the military, he pursued a formal education and in 1970 he earned a Bachelor’s from Wichita State University and in 1971 a Master’s from Kansas State Teachers College of Emporia. From his liberal arts education within psychology and sociology he would work in fields related to counseling and social services among smorgasbord of other job experiences that would cross his path in the next decades. Some of his jobs included working as an apartment complex manager, guidance counselor, uranium mine worker, pizza maker, bartender, restaurant manager and family therapist. John lived in various states after Kansas, gradually ending up on the west coast. His last job before he retired was in Grants Pass, Oregon where he worked as a family therapist for child protective services.

When John retired in the early 2000s in Brookings, Oregon, he became interested in kayaking, rivers and the ocean. He immersed himself in learning and after multiple capsizes, being constantly soggy, bruised, and worn out — he learned the skills of paddling and the Eskimo roll. He went on to help teach others about sea kayaking and rolling on the North Coast. He met a group of kayakers in Humboldt County and would drive from Brookings most weekends to paddle with them out of Trinidad. He also met his current wife, Marcella, kayaking and moved to Arcata in 2010. John “Seadog” Day loved paddling out of Trinidad on Sundays in all weather conditions and would continue paddling until symptoms of metastatic cancer began affecting his health in 2023.

John also relished in all the technical gear and outfitting that came with kayaking and the outdoors. He took his motto “fear no gear” to multiple levels, not only exploring these products but also modifying them with a little extra flare such as putting easy-to-grip insulation around a water bottle, modifying a spork to have a bottle opener, replacing the zipper pull with a reflective cord variation, adding little reflective dots on caps — all of these modifications were called, “John Day upgrades.”

His curiosity has brought him to new places and a wealth of experiences. This past December he wrote some observations about why stories are so great to share:

“Negotiating life and getting the most of it follows happy trails. Take journeys that reach your core, all the while giving your interests and curiosity a workout…. A strong curiosity and interest in all things will force you to connect and make you healthy. You will become a fully operating member of humanity, opened to so many stories you’ll not be able to digest it all! …There are no strangers out there — only people who may be strange at first, but will become an accomplice in life once you connect with them!”

John is survived by his wife, Marcella Ogata-Day, daughter by a previous marriage, Jessica Day, a multitude of loving friendships which he made a connection and an impact on during his lifetime.

John wanted the same poem that was read when his mother died to be read when he passed on:

Crossing the Bar
by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea,

But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.

Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;

For tho’ from out our bourne of Time and Place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crost the bar.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of John Day’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.