John Jervis Obituary (1933 – 2022) – Sacramento, CA

John Vincent Jervis
November 30, 1933 – June 8, 2022
Sacramento, California – John Vincent Jervis passed away peacefully in his sleep early in the morning of June 8, 2022, in Sacramento. In the last few weeks of his life, John had enjoyed visits from all of his family members and a multitude of friends and former colleagues from his long life.
John Jervis was born Nov. 30, 1933, in Vicksburg, Mississippi, to William and Margaret Jervis. They, along with John’s younger brother, William, moved to California following the end of World War II, living first in Stockton, then Sacramento, and then Los Angeles.
John graduated from Los Angeles High School in 1951, and attended Los Angeles City College for two years before then attending the University of California, Berkeley, from which he graduated in 1955.
At a potluck shortly after graduation, John met Sally Ann Reid, herself a ’55 graduate of Cal’s rival university, Stanford. During their courtship, John worked briefly as a reporter for the Chico Enterprise-Record as a general assignment reporter, before reporting for service in the US Navy in 1956. He served on the aircraft carrier USS Kearsarge, which was stationed in San Diego and went on patrols in the northeastern Pacific Ocean, and he was director of the carrier’s closed-circuit television station.
During this time, Sally and John made plans to marry, and did so a few months after his discharge, on Dec. 21, 1957, at All Saints Episcopal Church in Sacramento.
Settling briefly in San Francisco, John worked as a general assignment reporter at KCBS radio while Sally worked as a schoolteacher in North Beach. They soon relocated to Sacramento, where he began working as a radio reporter for KCRA. Laurie Jervis, their first child, was born on Sept. 27, 1960. At KCRA, John worked in the station’s combined radio and TV newsroom before moving over solely to the TV side. He at first worked as a general assignment reporter, covered courts, and also covered the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley.
On Feb. 11, 1964, their second child, Kathy, was born, and that same year at KCRA John set up and headed the Capitol bureau, from which he covered the 1966 gubernatorial election, and later traveled to the 1968 Democratic and Republican national conventions in Chicago and Miami to provide special coverage for the station.
That same year, John and Sally welcomed their son, David, on Sept. 5. In 1971 he departed the station and worked in political communications for the Senate Democratic Caucus and Sen. George Moscone, and then in the state controller’s office. In 1984 John joined the private sector, working in consulting and public relations for the PBN Company and then the Regional Council of Rural Counties, retiring in 1998.
His grandmother from Maine instilled in him a love of horses, and John enjoyed it when his junior high school-aged daughters participated in 4-H horse shows. During that same period of time, summer always meant camping at Lake Tahoe or in the Santa Cruz area. After retirement, John enjoyed many Elderhostel trips all across the United States and Canada, including many golf-centered ones, and he thoroughly enjoyed many outings with his two grandsons for more than two decades.
Through his entire life, John loved golf, and the games that he played with lifelong friends continued into his final weeks. In later years he participated in and really liked several community outreach projects sponsored by his church.
Survivors include his wife of nearly 65 years, Sally Reid Jervis; daughter Laurie Elizabeth Jervis of Santa Ynez, CA.; daughter and son-in-law Kathy and Rob Penn of Nevada City, CA.; and son David Tungsten Jervis of Arcata, CA.; grandsons Andrew Fike of Nevada City, and Will Fike, partner Brooke Maria Avera, and their infant son (John and Sally’s first great-grandchild), all of Susanville, CA.; brother-in-law Robert Reid and former sister-in-law Nancy Ledden Reid, both of Sacramento, and nephew, Warrick Hans Jervis of Golden, Colo.
John was predeceased by his parents, William and Margaret Jervis of Sacramento; and his brother, Dr. William Jervis Jr. of Walnut Creek, CA.
Memorial services will be held at 10 am Saturday, July 23, at Saint Michael’s Episcopal Church, 2140 Mission Ave. in Carmichael. Remembrances may be made to St. Michael’s or to the American Cancer Society.

Published by The Sacramento Bee on Jun. 26, 2022.

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