John Raymond Alday

John Raymond Alday, known to many as “Punga,” passed away on July 1, 2026, in Sandy, UT due to complications related to pneumonia. He went calmly and peacefully surrounded by family and listening to Miles Davis at the age of 92.

Born July 11, 1933, in Huntington Park, CA, to Gussie Jordan and Jay Alday, he had a complicated childhood, but always yearned for friendship and peace. His adoration of movies was born from the nickels his brother, Jay Jr., gave him to “go away.” He fondly remembered walking to the theater to watch the newest film and get an occasional free ice cream. Just before he passed, he ate a few bites of chocolate ice cream and asked if he had gone to heaven.

Throughout his post-World War II childhood he was enamored with technology, and one of his favorite stories to tell was of when the FCC busted down his door when he was caught illegally building and using ham radios to talk to his friends at the age of 13. From there he pursued his radio license, ultimately, becoming a physicist for the Department of Defense where he experimented with classified GPS, telemetry, and radar projects with only the supervision of his fellow mad scientists. He was proud of his numerous patents potentially related to air plane black box communications. Shortly before being drafted in for the Korean War, he met his wife Marjorie at a sock hop when she joined him playing piano. She waited for him, stateside, exchanging love letters and saving money for a car. When he returned home, he attended California Polytechnic University in San Luis Obispo where he earned a bachelor's degree in advanced mathematics. He and Marjorie were finally married on March 23, 1956 and had a daughter, Lori, and son, Steven.

During the early days of marriage John continued to pursue adventure from playing in late night jazz clubs to racing sled dogs in dried river beds. Ultimately, he settled down by stationing his family in Puerto Rico where he recounted some of his happiest memories of sailing across islands, spearfishing, playing in a mariachi band, and melting batteries into diving weights with his daughter.

Nearly a decade later he returned to his heart’s home in CA, to watch his children reach adulthood, compose jazz music, continue dominating ham radio contests, and expand his love to his California daughter, Jessica, and his California grandchildren Brittney, Samantha, and Brooke, as well as his New Mexico grandchildren Anna, Rebecca, Sophia, and Tony. Throughout retirement, his adventures continued as he traveled across the country with his wife, “Nana,” in their RV to pan for gold. At home, he built a massive 40 foot tall radio tower, solar panels, and an orchard of fruit trees in addition to fermenting the second worst wine in the world which he eventually used as a weed killer. After his wife passed, he fostered the neighborhood colony of feral “putty cats” and loved sharing pictures of them during Covid lock-down Zoom calls.

In his final years, he moved to Utah to be closer to his daughter where he built a slightly smaller radio tower, tended to his garden, played his trumpet, and looked forward to watching Wednesday night Survivor, soccer games, dance performances, grandparent days, and various random activities of his great-grand children, Amelia and Eli.

He will be very fondly remembered and missed by each life he touched. His last words to his great-grandchildren was to remind them that “Love is love.”

John is preceded in death by his parents, Gussie and Jay; his brother, Jay Jr.; his wife of 61 years, Marjorie; and son, Steven. He is survived by his daughters, Lori Onsae and Jessica Horn-Weber (Jeremiah Weber); grandchildren Anna (Tyler McNamer), Brittany (Kramer Miller), Rebecca Hampton, Samantha (Richard Birman), Sophia (Kyle Hawkins), Anthony Onsae, and Brooke Horn; and great-grandchildren, Amelia, Eli, Ollie, Holly, and Hope. 

His family will host 2 celebrations of life. One in Utah on August 8 at the Cottonwood Heights City Council Building from 6:00 to 8:00 P.M. The second at the Riverside National Cemetery in California on January 18, at 9:00 A.M. and a celebration of life after at 2030 Fillmore St, Riverside, CA, 92503.

In lieu of flowers, John hoped to support the next generation of ham radio operators and jazz communities. Donations can be made digitally to the National Association for Amateur Radio (ARRL) here https://home.arrl.org/action/donate or TriTone Fantasy Jazz camp here https://www.tritonejazz.com/donate.