Funeral for Johnny Maltese, 95, Lawton, will be at 1:30 p.m. , Tuesday, December 9, 2014 at Becker-Rabon Funeral Home Chapel with Garrett Bookout, minister at Northwest Church of Christ officiating. Mr. Maltese died Friday, December 5, at a Lawton nursing facility after a short illness. Burial with military honors will be at Highland Cemetery under direction of Becker-Rabon Funeral Home. John was born October 4, 1919, in Walters to Andrew and Emma Maltese. He attended the St. Mary's School System. During his early childhood John became an avid hunter and fisherman and helped provide for his younger brother and sisters as many in that era did. John enlisted into the United States Army, January 27, 1941 as a rifleman and combat infantryman. He served 11 months in the US Army before being sent to Australia where he began his journey for the next three and a half years with Company "E" of the 158th Regimental Combat Infantry Team under the command of Major General Leonard F. Wing. John received the following decorations and awards during his journey throughout the Pacific arena: American Defense Service Ribbon, 1942; American Theater Ribbon, February 11, 1944; Asiatic-Pacific Theater Ribbon, February 11, 1944; Bronze Service Star for the Asiatic-Pacific Theater Ribbon for actual battle participation in the New Guinea Campaign, February 11, 1945; Bronze Service Star for the Asiatic-Pacific Ribbon for actual battle participation in the Bismark Archipelago Campaign, April 28, 1945; Bronze Service Star for the Asiatic-Pacific Theater Ribbon for actual battle participation in the Luzon Campaign, November 28, 1944 and May 8, 1945;and the Philippine Liberation Ribbon and Bronze Star for actual battle participation during the period January 11, 1945 to June 10, 1945 on the Philippine Islands. At the end of WWII John honorably discharged from the US Army to begin civilian life. John became a machine operator for Everett Thompson Plumbing in the early 1950's running one of the first self-propelled trenching machines. Encouraged by his fellow workers to obtain his plumber's license he then went to work for Thompson Plumbing and later Adair Plumbing and Heating working to become one of the best service and repair plumbers in Lawton for the next forty years. His select customer friends always asked for "Johnny" to be sent, no one else, to their homes since he was their trusted friend. He married Francis Corine Stinnett in 1952 and they were happily married for 60 years until her death in 2012. John was a faithful member of Northwest Church of Christ for 61 years. John made friends wherever he went especially if he were fishing. On one such trip he and Corine met Charles and Cheryl Mahaffey and they spent the next 30 years fishing together and building a wonderful friendship. John is survived by his 2 sisters; Mary Anne Southworth of Gresham, Oregon and Retha May Brentley of Burleson, Texas. He is also survived by two nieces, Barbara Valdez of Lawton and June Soss of Oregon; three nephews, Larry Adair of Dallas, Texas, Ted Fisher of Alto, New Mexico and John David Southworth of Oregon; and three great nephews; Brian Valdez and Blaine Adair of Lawton, and Wade Adair of Spangdhalem, Germany. Family members preceding John in death are his brother, Joseph Maltese, and his three sisters, Katy Petty, Angelina Fisher, and Elizabeth Maltese.