John Lee Fike, Jr.
John Lee Fike, Jr., age 78, Telecommunications professor and avid rail historian, died May 26, 2016, at Boulder Community Health hospital, Boulder, Colorado. He was born December 1, 1937 to John Lee Fike, Sr., and Mary LaRue Huggans Fike in Muskogee, OK.
John graduated from Muskogee Central High School in 1955, received his Bachelors and Masters degrees in Electrical Engineering (Computer Science), in 1961 and 1962, respectively, from Oklahoma State University. He was a member of Phi Delta Theta, Oklahoma Beta Chapter. Upon graduation he worked at Cape Canaveral during the Cuban missile crisis in down-range missile tracking, then worked on the project that designed of the original Mission Control at the Johnson Spacecraft Center in Houston.
While employed at Texas Instruments in Dallas in the 1980's, he co-authored two books in the TI / Radio Shack "Understanding…" series: "Understanding Telephone Electronics," and "Understanding Data Communications."
John earned his PhD in electrical engineering (computer science) in 1973 from Southern Methodist University, where he joined the faculty to establish a graduate program in Telecommunications. He also earned the PE (Professional Engineer) designation. In the 1980's he taught several telecom courses for Aramco in Saudi Arabia.
John was very active in the International Communications Association (ICA), and was a member of both the Summer Program Planning Committee, held annually at the CU campus in Boulder, the ICA Annual Conference Education Development Committee, and the ICA's Public Policy Committee. In addition to his other activities, John devoted many years to athletic officiating: 10 years of basketball, and 30 years of high school and college football, generally as Back Judge.
In 1992 he joined the faculty of Texas A&M University in Engineering Technology and Industrial Distribution (ETID), teaching telecommunications management, history, regulation, and networking. During his tenure there he served as Speaker of the Faculty Senate 2005-06 during the presidency of Dr. Robert M. Gates. He retired from A&M in 2009 as Associate Professor Emeritus.
He and his wife Linda relocated to Arvada, Colorado, in 2013 and in his retirement he fulfilled his life-long dream of living within sight and sound of a mainline railroad, in this case, the UP's Moffat sub. No day was complete without going out to wave as Amtrak passed by two times a day.
John was a member of numerous rail historical organizations including the R&LHS, NRHS, NARP, ColoRail, and The Lexington Group. He was especially knowledgeable about the railroads of northeastern Oklahoma, particularly the Katy, the Midland Valley, and the KO&G, giving programs about their history and development to a variety of organizations. He was a past editor of the R&LHS's Quarterly Newsletter. He was a lifetime member of the OSU Alumni Association, the Oklahoma Historical Society, and Mensa. He was proud of never having missed a reunion of his high school Class of '55.
An avid reader, he especially loved the writings of J. R. R. Tolkien, and Jack Vance. He was also knowledgeable about early rock & roll and its roots in the blues and race music.
He is survived by his wife Linda Kay Farmer Kanelakos Fike, daughter Martha Elizabeth Fike Kelly and her husband Michael Kevin Kelly, Sr. of New Braunfels, Texas; granddaughter Katherine Elizabeth (Katy) Kelly Swift, husband Kyle Swift, and great-grandson Samuel Porter Swift of Lufkin TX; grandson Michael Kevin Kelly, Jr. and Racheal Rehm of Norman, OK; stepson Collin Howard Kanelakos, wife Natalie Michelle Tipton Kanelakos, and grandchildren Ella Alexa Kanelakos and Nicholas Collin Kanelakos, of Frisco, Texas; and previous wife Barbara Daniel and husband Eric Daniel of Vancouver, Washington.
He was preceded in death by his parents, son John David Fike, and John D.'s mother, wife Martha Gail Raper Fike.
A graveside service was held on May 28 at Memorial Park in Muskogee, OK where John was buried next to his father and paternal grandparents.
A Celebration of Life Memorial service will be held on Saturday, July 30, at Arvada United Methodist Church at 2:00 P.M., 6750 Carr Street, Arvada, Colorado; Co-Pastor Valerie Oden, presiding.
John loved flowers, so the family would never discourage them. Otherwise, if desired, John would have suggested a memorial contribution to Planned Parenthood, the Katy Railroad Historical Society, or the Arvada United Methodist Church.