John J. Livingston III

John J. Livingston III, 64, passed away Monday, September 21 after a long battle with cancer and other medical issues. 

He was born in Joplin, Missouri, January 28, 1962, to John J. Livingston, Jr., and Jerrel Deane Livingston. He was preceded in death by his father, John J. Livingston Jr. of Joplin, and his grandmother, Annabelle (Skye) Krieger of Galena, Kansas. 

John loved his family and friends dearly, and even though he got grumpier as he dealt with illnesses and high pain levels, we all knew he still loved us and would tease him about being the Grumpy dwarf from Snow White. His passions included making barbecue (yes, we were spoiled), watching the Chiefs, playing poker occasionally, going to the target range, attending small group/Bible studies, and in the first 30+ years of marriage, playing bass and singing in worship bands. After changing churches to one where they have a huge “bench” of musicians, we started feeding the musicians/production teams at Journey (about 35+) a hot breakfast every Sunday morning. We continued that until the cancer diagnosis. 

He was a computer programmer/software developer his whole working life, and never wanted to be anything else. “Be a supervisor? WAY too people-y.” He especially loved his kids, and considered it a father’s duty to embarrass them whenever possible. 

He leaves behind his wife, JoEllen (Stevenson), of the home, kids Alex, 22, Natalia, 21, and Valentina, 19 all of Lee’s Summit; mother, Jerri Livingston of Joplin, brother Dan Livingston and sister-in-law Lorene Livingston, both of Joplin.

Obituary submitted by the family

Arrangements by Royer Funeral Home in Grain Valley, Missouri