{"id":887,"date":"2012-08-19T18:18:27","date_gmt":"2012-08-20T00:18:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/?post_type=case&#038;p=887"},"modified":"2012-08-19T18:18:27","modified_gmt":"2012-08-20T00:18:27","slug":"john-carl-ekman","status":"publish","type":"case","link":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/obituaries\/john-carl-ekman\/","title":{"rendered":"John Carl Ekman"},"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","class_list":{"0":"post-887","1":"case","2":"type-case","3":"status-publish","5":"entry"},"acf":[],"fields":{"event_title1":"","event_date1":"","start_time1":"","end_time1":"","location1":"","address1":"","city1":"","state1":"","zipcode1":"","event_title2":"","event_date2":"","start_time2":"","end_time2":"","location2":"","address2":"","city2":"","state2":"","zipcode2":"","event_title3":"","event_date3":"","start_time3":"","end_time3":"","location3":"","address3":"","city3":"","state3":"","zipcode3":"","event_title4":"","event_date4":"","start_time4":"","end_time4":"","location4":"","address4":"","city4":"","state4":"","zipcode4":"","service_status":"public","first_name":"John","middle_name":"Carl","last_name":"Ekman","date_born":"9\/1\/1954","date_died":"7\/14\/2011","age":"","city":"","state":"","full_obituary_text":"<p>John Carl Ekman, 56, of Helena passed away at his home the morning of Thursday July 14th.<\/p>\n<p>John was born to John and Marilyn Ekman on September 1, 1954 in Helena.<\/p>\n<p>He grew up in East Helena and attended Helena High School, graduating in 1972. After his graduation, John set out on an adventure, hitchhiking across the United States spending periods of time in Arizona, Florida and Alaska. Upon returning back to Helena, he married and had two beautiful children; Eric and Sarah. John worked faithfully as a clerk for the United States Postal Service for 34 years, retiring in September of 2009. He spent a short time delivering express mail, through which he created his favorite moniker \u201cExpressman\u201d. John was a diehard Minnesota fan his whole life; he cheered on the Vikings, the Twins, and the Timberwolves. He showed his support by wearing one of his team shirts when each season was in play. He loved playing with children, and making people laugh. He also loved going to mineral, rock and gem shows, searching for geodes which he both collected and treasured. Just as with a geode, John\u2019s true beauty lay within; he had a beautiful heart and loved deeply, and he will never be forgotten by those who knew and loved him.<\/p>\n<p>John is survived by his mother, Marilyn Ekman of Helena; his son Eric Ekman (Cindy) and grandchildren Emma Ekman and William Ekman of Tumwater, WA; daughter Sarah Mjelde (Bruce) of Spokane. Also his sisters: Linda Johnson of Stevensville, MD; Debbie Davis (Bob), Barbara Knutson (Bruce) and half brother David Ekman all of Helena. Also, several nieces and nephews and great nieces and great nephews.<\/p>\n<p>John is preceded in death by his father, John Celestin Ekman.<\/p>\n<p>The family would like to invite you to John\u2019s celebration of life on Wednesday, July 20, 2011 at 1 PM at Anderson, Stevenson Wilke Funeral Home. You are encouraged to wear a Minnesota Vikings shirt or Vikings purple and gold to the service.<\/p>\n","photo":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/416920_profile_pic.jpg","youtube_video_url":"","family_email":"","family_first_name":"","family_last_name":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/case\/887","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/case"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/case"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=887"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}