John Devens

Colonel John Wellington Devens (USA Ret) was born on July 2, 1936, in Dover, New Hampshire as the youngest son of LTC William George Devens and Mary Margaret (Hammond) Devens.  John’s older siblings were William (Buddy) George Devens and Mary Ellen Devens (McCloskey).  John graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point (USMA) in 1958, following his father (USNA 1924) and brother (USMA 1946), who also graduated from federal military academies.  John’s father died in service in the Pentagon in 1946, when John was just 10 years old.  Since his brother and sister were a good deal older and moved out to go to college, John was essentially an only child as a teenager, living alone with his widowed Mother.  He spent the balance of his youth in Arlington, VA, attending St. Thomas More Catholic school in Arlington, and Gonzaga College High School in Washington, DC.  John was active in a variety of Arlington County Recreation sports, and developed a love for baseball, playing both little league and ultimately American Legion Baseball as a 3rd baseman and pitcher. He also coached a little league team as a teenager.  John was known to run around with a group of teens who called themselves the ‘Lazy Lovers’ in South Arlington, also where he first met the love of his life, Carol Cambio.

During John’s four years at West Point, he was reunited with Carol, and they were engaged and looked forward to a life together. John was commissioned into the US Army upon graduation from West Point in 1958, and they were married at Fort Myer a month later. John and Carol began their Army life, raising four boys, John Edward, Christopher George, Michael William, and Edward (Ted) Parker, and traveling to Army assignments around the country and overseas.

Significant assignments in his Army career included deployment to Germany as a Company Commander during the Berlin Wall Crisis, serving with the Military Advisory groups early in the Vietnam War, serving in Thailand later in the war, commanding the 237th Engineer Battalion in Heilbronn, Germany, selection as a Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense, attending the US Army War College, commanding the Huntington District of the Corps of Engineers, and serving as the Resident Member of the Board of Rivers and Harbors, USACE.  John loved his distinguished and decorated military career, from which he retired in 1986 after 28 years of faithful service.  Carol – his true love - managed the household and the many moves, and was the consummate ‘Army Wife.’

After retiring from the Army, John enjoyed a second career as a professional engineer for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and then for Parsons Brinckerhoff. John managed several projects for PB and including those that moved him and Carol to London, England, and to Denver, Colorado where he retired once again.  In retirement, John played a lot of golf and he and Carol traveled and spent time with their family and grandchildren.

John was known for his wonderful sense of humor, quick wit, and great stories, which made him a center of attention at social gatherings, and made him many friends throughout his life.  When he was relegated to Assisted Living at Wind Crest in Highlands Ranch, CO, he continued to charm his caregivers and make friends.  He was known as “The Colonel” around Wind Crest, and occasionally wore his uniform proudly, even in his wheelchair.

John is preceded in death by his siblings and his beloved Carol, who succumbed to Alzheimer’s in June of 2020. Perhaps his greatest achievement and truest demonstration of his service character was the six years he spent as Carol’s caretaker, as she fell ever deeper into Alzheimer’s and was for a long time unable to talk. John’s family will always be grateful for his dedicated caretaking.

John is survived by all four of his sons and their families:  John (Sarah), Chris (Teresa), Mike (Lorraine), and Ted (Diane), and 10 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.  He will rest next to his beloved Carol at Arlington National Cemetery.