John Victor Hofer Oliver, 65, passed away on November 26, 2024 in Billings from covid/pneumonia/COPD complications. John was born on August 1, 1959 to parents Francis Russell Oliver and Virginia Ida Oliver (Hofer) in Chicago, Illinois. At the age of nine, John moved with his family to Cody, Wyoming, where the family purchased and ran a sporting goods store. When he got older, John learned to gunsmith. John attended the Cody schools and graduated high school in Salt Lake City, Utah. He went on to attend business college in Salt Lake.

John married Patricia Hinz in 1981 in Cody. They had two children, Josselyn (Pratt) and Byron (deceased). After their divorce, John moved to Billings, Montana, where he worked as a real estate appraiser and then a construction manager, before becoming the first sporting goods store manager for the new west-end Billings Walmart. John's father passed when John was 15, and John's mother followed John to Billings shortly after he moved there. John became his mother's caregiver for many years.

John studied to be a real estate developer next, and was instrumental in planning and developing the Montana Sapphire Subdivision in the west-end. He was able to secure the land for a $10 deposit from a farmer and lots of hopes and dreams.

John's next adventure was purchasing his own dump truck and backhoe, and running his own excavation business, Montana Earthworks. He dug many home foundations and sewer lines with his business.

John married Deborah Greenfield on September 20, 2003 in Billings, MT. They moved to the Bull Mountains, where they lived for ten years, then moved to Lockwood after John's health started failing. John was a volunteer firefighter while living in the Bull Mountains and owned his own fire truck.

In 2005, John, with his wife Debbie, went on a mission trip to Mississippi and Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina on behalf of their church, First Presbyterian Church of Billings. John drove his dump truck with the backhoe all the way to Diamondback, Mississippi. There, the couple helped with clearing downed trees and post-hurricane cleanup. That was one of John's highlights of his life.

John loved the outdoors, and was an avid camper, boater, and fisherman. He could tell some whoppers of tales. John loved spending time with his children and grandchildren and building/creating things. He could fix anything.

John was predeceased by his father and mother, half-brother Tom, and son Byron. He leaves behind his wife Deborah, daughter Josselyn (Pratt), step-daughter Amber (Stewart), half-sister Kathy (Gilbert), and seven grandchildren: Cyrus, Gracelyn, Sophie, Axel, Liora, Kaeli, and Declan.

Funeral services for John will be held on Sunday, December 1, 2024, starting at 2:00 pm, at 1st Presbyterian Church, located at 2420 13th St W, Billings, MT. Burial will follow on Monday, December 2, 2024, at 1:00 pm at Sunset Memorial Gardens.