John H. Wise, 87, joyfully went home to be with his Heavenly Father and family Tuesday morning. He passed away at the VNA Hospice in Butler.

The family wishes to extend a special thank you to the staff of the VNA hospice program for their loving care throughout the past months.

Born Aug. 29, 1925, in Harmony, he was the son of John L. and Estella (Mickley) Wise.

John was a graduate of Zelienople High School. He was a devoted husband, father, grandfather and Opa. He was a member of Grace Church of Harmony where he served many years as elder and Sunday school teacher, and sang in the choir. He served on the board of Western Pennsylvania Bible Conference as well as the Butler County chapter of Child Evangelism Fellowship.

John was born and raised on the family dairy farm just outside of Harmony and lived in the Harmony area his entire life. Following high school, while continuing to work on the family farm, he ran the family feed and farm supply business that was started by his father and later continued by his brother David.

John met his future wife, Eleanor, in 1946, and three years later they married, a marriage which, at the time of her death, had lasted more than 61 years. Upon starting a family, he began driving milk truck for W.D. Rubright.

He entered a life of public service starting in 1964 as Harmony Borough secretary then was elected as Butler County Prothonotary, serving in that capacity for four terms. He was later elected as Butler County Clerk of Courts, serving for six years. As a member of the Butler County Republican Party, John served as chairman for a number of years.

John was a lifetime member of Jackson Grange and was a member of the Big Butler Fair board, including a stint as chairman.

Surviving are his children, Brad Wise and his wife, Elaine, of Harmony, Nancy Hala and her husband, James, of Westmont, N.J., Dennis Wise of Harmony and Kimberly Wynne and her husband, Carroll, of Lansdowne, Pa. He is also survived by 11 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, Ryan Wise and his wife, Marlene, and their sons Jacob, Noah and Isaac; Jonathan Sands Wise and his wife, Elizabeth, and their daughter, Clara; Katherine, James David and Christopher Hala; Carrie, Abbey and Megan Wise; David Wynne and his wife, Haley, and Jonathan and Rachel Wynne.

In addition to his wife, Eleanor, he was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, David.

WISE — Friends of John H Wise, who died Tuesday, June 11, 2013, will be received from 4 to 6 and 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday at Boylan Funeral Home, 324 E. Grandview Ave., Zelienople.

Additional visitation will be from 10 to 10:45 a.m. Friday at Grace Church of Harmony where services will follow at 11 a.m. with the Rev. Peter Everett officiating.

Interment will be at Grace Church of Harmony Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in John’s memory to the Child Evangelism Fellowship of Butler, P.O. Box 1797, Butler, PA 16003, or to the Grace Church of Harmony Wise Scholarship Fund, 538 Main St., Harmony, PA 16037.

Expressions of sympathy may be shared with the Wise family at www.boylanfuneralhome.com