John Yetter McCollister was born on June 10, 1921 and passed from this life on November 1, 2013.   He was born to John M. McCollister and Ruth Yetter McCollister in Iowa City, Iowa. In 1939 he graduated from Washington High School in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and in 1943 he graduated from the University of Iowa in Iowa City with the degree of a Bachelor of Science in Commerce.  He was President of the College of Commerce Senior Class of ’43, President of the Commerce Club, President of Phi Kappa Psi social fraternity and a member of the Iowa track and cross-country teams.
Upon graduation from the University of Iowa, John was inducted into the United States Naval Reserve and commissioned as an Ensign in August of 1943.  He was ordered to attend the Navy Radar Technical School at Harvard and MIT.  Upon completion of that training in August of 1944, he served as RADAR Officer aboard the USS Birmingham, (CL 62) in the Western Pacific. In January of 1946 he was released to inactive duty with the rank of Lieutenant (jg).

He married Nanette Stokes on August 22, 1943 and resided in Omaha, Nebraska where he was a Sales Representative for IBM in Moline, Illinois, and Waterloo, Iowa from 1946 to 1952.  In early 1952 he became IBM Special Representative to the meat packing industry throughout the United States.  He left IBM in mid-1953 to join his father in the manufacture of fluid lubricants in Omaha, Nebraska. From 1960 to 1971 and again from 1979 to 1986 he was president of McCollister & Co.  Now partially retired, he served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors, McCollister & Company, Council Bluffs, Iowa, a regional manufacturer of fluid lubricants.  He was a member of the Board of Directors of the Omaha National Bank (now US Bank--Nebraska) until his election to the United States House of Representatives in 1970.   For two terms from 1965 to 1970, he was the Douglas County Commissioner. He was a delegate to the Nebraska State Republican conventions from 1960 to 1970, and delegate to the 1968 Republican National Convention. He was elected as a Republican to the Ninety-second United States Congress, defeating incumbent Glenn Cunningham in the Republican primary.  He was reelected to the Ninety-third United States Congress and Ninety-fourth United States Congress serving from January 3, 1971 to January 3, 1977.  In 1976, he decided to run instead for U.S. Senate but was unsuccessful, losing to Omaha Mayor Edward Zorinsky by a 53% to 47% margin.  He was a presidential elector for Nebraska in 2000.  He was a member of the Presbyterian church, the Kiwanis and Phi Kappa Psi. He was an active Republican Party volunteer serving as Second District Chairman, State Executive Committee, Senior President of Nebraska Republican Founders Day, a delegate to the National Conventions in 1968 and 1988. In elective office, he was elected to be a Douglas County Commissioner twice and was elected to the US House of Representatives three times, 1971-1977.   He recently served as a member of the Board of Directors of the United States Association of Former Member of Congress and was chair of the Association’s Long Range Planning Committee.

Leadership has been given to a number of Omaha organizations. He served the Mid America Council, BSA, in a number of capacities including three terms as Council President. He also served as Regional Chairman and a member of the National Board of Directors of the Boy Scouts of America. Scouting has awarded the Silver Beaver and the Silver Antelope to him.  He was the President of the Downtown Omaha Kiwanis Club, President of a school Community Club, and taught church school for ten years. He was chairman of the Board of Trustees and an Elder of Dundee Presbyterian Church.  He is a Mason, 32 degree KCCH Scottish Rite. He has been a member of the Boards of Directors of Greater Omaha Community Action, Westside Community Schools, Omaha Chamber of Commerce, Omaha Sales Executives, Omaha Association for Retarded Children, Omaha Children’s Hospital and Iowa Association of Business and Industry. For a number of years he gave leadership to various sections of the United Fund campaigns. Recently he was a member of the Board of Trustees, Countryside Community Church in Omaha, and was chair of Countryside Church's recent Sanctuary capital fund campaign

He is survived by his wife Betty H. McCollister; children: John S. McCollister (Deb), Stephen J. McCollister (Pat), and Bruce C. McCollister (Cathy). Grandchildren: S. Scott McCollister (Trina), Todd J. McCollister (Lania), Lauren Ledger (Dan), Daniel McCollister, Keith McCollister (Larissa), John P. McCollister (Mallory), Jeff McCollister, Beth Josten (Brian), and Molly McCollister. Step-Grandchildren: Matt Jackson (April), Angela Olander (Dave), Nate Jackson (Meisha). Great-grandchildren and step-great-grandchildren: Aspen McCollister, Cadence McCollister, Mallory Jackson, Hudson McCollister, Andrew Ledger, Sawyer McCollister, David Ledger, Brady McCollister, Bennett McCollister, Brooklyn Olander, and Morgan Jackson. Brother R. Paul McCollister (Barbie).  He was preceeded in death by his parents, John M. and Ruth Y. McCollister; his first wife Nanette S. McCollister; and his brothers, Edwin S. McCollister and Howard R. McCollister.