Jon Harold Hepfer, 80, of Green Valley, Arizona passed away from a heart attack on July 14, 2026. His partner Gerrie was by his side. He will be remembered for his energy, warmth, and irreverent sense of humor.

Jon was born in Los Angeles in 1946. He was the second son of Virginia Graham, and the younger brother to Lee, whose father had died early in WWII. Virginia and Jon's biological father, Harold Blackmore, married but eventually divorced.  Virginia then relocated her little family to Seattle. There she met and married Jack Hepfer (who Jon would later consider his true father) Virginia and Jack then had Jon's sister Heidi.

Jon spent his childhood in Kirkland on the shores of Lake Washington. He told many stories about growing up water skiing, driving hot rods, and generally causing as much mischief as he could. He graduated from Lake Washington High School in 1964.

While at Yakima Valley Junior College, he met two women who would play significant roles in his life. The first was Gerrie Swartz whom he would return to decades later.

The other was Patty Kelch whom he met and married in 1965. Together in Yakima they had sons Todd and Dustin. The marriage was short-lived and Jon returned to Seattle in 1968, while Patty remained in Yakima raising the boys.

He met Barbara Thein while working together in 1969.  Together they moved to San Francisco during the height of that city's cultural explosion from 1970 to 1977. He married Barbara in 1976 and they moved back to Washington where they had son Morgan and daughter Hannah and settled in Puyallup.

In 1985, Jon had an epiphany. A moment of clarity, he would call it, that he couldn't continue drinking alcohol and be the person he wanted to be. He was greatly aided in his recovery by the example set by his father, Jack. Jon became deeply involved in AA, spending several evenings there per week, and would stay engaged with it for the remainder of his life.

Alongside this personal transformation, he went back to school to become a teacher. He then worked for over 20 years as a special education teacher at Downing Elementary in Tacoma. He specialized in teaching kids with severe behavior disorders. He used to say that he liked the miscreants and trouble makers best because he could relate to them; they were his kind of people. He always had a heart for the "little guy," and that came through in his love for his students.

After 28 years of marriage, Jon and Barbara divorced in 2004. He then married Linda and continued to teach until he retired in 2012. Linda passed away around 2014. He moved to Tucson the following year.

There, by good fortune, he reconnected with Gerrie with whom he spent the remaining 10 years of his life. He helped out at The Animal League of Green Valley, finding a niche working with abandoned Pitbulls that nobody else wanted to handle. He was sometimes referred to as the "dog whisperer". Jon chaired a weekly AA meeting and volunteered at the local Democratic Party office. He indulged in his love for racing BMWs and would often drive way too fast around town, saved only by radar detectors and jammers of questionable legality. He loved Tucson, was an avid hiker, and nurtured a fascination and respect for Native American art and culture. He maintained his zeal for life until the end.

He is survived by his brother Lee, sister Heidi, sons Todd, Dustin, Morgan, daughter Hannah and partner Gerrie.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the The Animal League of Green Valley . Per his wishes, Jon's ashes will be scattered in the Sonoran desert near Tuscon.