John Henry Sain, 93, bid farewell to this earth on Oct. 21, 2014, at Creekside Inn in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

John was born in Gould, Okla. on April 30, 1921, to John H. and Fanny McCauley Sain. He was number nine of 11 children. Picking cotton was a staple of his childhood life.

After graduating from high school in the early 1940s, John left Oklahoma for Palo Alto, Calif. to stay with his sister, Judy, and her husband, Oscar Simmons. There, he drove a dump truck and eventually worked for the Urban Bros. Company.

John's oldest sister, Jesse, married John Friesen. Through them, he met John's sister, Elsie Marie Friesen, and they were married on Feb. 7, 1946, in Altus, Okla.

Moving back to California, John stayed in the concrete business. One of the projects he worked on was the Stanford Linear Accelerator, which is still in use today more than 50 years later.

An avid outdoorsman all his life and tiring of city life, John moved to Priest Lake, Idaho, in 1968 to rebuild the Airport Resort (the old Cavanaugh Bay Store on the east side above Coolin, Idaho). There, he fished at every opportunity.

After three years, John and Elsie moved to Coeur d'Alene where he worked as an operating engineer on the Tri-Cities Dam, I-90, and other construction sites.

John spent two years building their home in Dalton Gardens and often said he'd work all week - buy boards and nails on Friday evening and hammer all weekend.

A life-long poet, some of John's poems have been published, framed, and are in booklets or hanging on walls to brighten other's lives. Many are tributes to special people or events.

Another passion was garage sales, yard sales and flea markets, which were always fun for John. He enjoyed the banter and camaraderie of countless strangers. The name tag on his coveralls read "Big John" ... and that accurately described not only his stature, but his heart as well.

John's last years were spent at Creekside, being loved and pampered by the caregivers.

John is survived by his wife of 68 years, Elsie; three sons: Jerry (Linda) of North Carolina, Dale (Charlene) of Washington, and Alan (Barbie) of Coeur d'Alene; six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

If you have stories or memories of Big John that you would like to share with the family, please email them to sainsplace@roadrunner.com or mail to Alan Sain, 1511 N. 6th St., Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, 83814.

A memorial for John is planned at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 25, at His Place Church, 3079 E. 16th Ave., Post Falls, Idaho. English Funeral Chapel is in charge of arrangements.