John Daniel McCrory was born on January 25, 1938, to Roy L. and Othella Daniel McCrory in Lubbock, TX. The family lived in Amherst, TX, a small town northwest of Lubbock where John started elementary school. In 1945 as World War II was ending, his father was drafted into the U.S. Army and the family traveled via train and troop ship to Berlin, Germany, where his father served on General Clay's staff.

The family lived in a Berlin suburb that had not been bombed in the war and John attended USAREUR Dependents Schools. He and a friend frequently traveled via streetcar through bombed-out Berlin to Tempelhof Airfield where they watched Berlin Airlift aircraft unloading coal from the soda fountain. After a transfer to Nuernberg, his father took him to see some Nuernberg trial sessions and the Dachau prison camp. They were transferred back to Texas for a short time, then returned to Germany where he attended the first years of high school in Wiesbaden. After return to the U.S. for the last time, he attended TX Tech briefly, graduated in 1961 from the University of Texas, Austin, and joined the U.S. Air Force. He was married to Joan Gold, they were stationed in Turkey, and his daughter Mary Katherine was born there.

When John's military service obligation was satisfied, the family relocated to Santa Fe, NM, and John started law school. His daughter, Gwyn, was born in Santa Fe. Flying still beckoned and when commercial flying training opportunities presented, he began training first in Bakersfield, CA, and then in Oakland, CA. After completing training was completed, he went back to Germany and flew with Air Berlin, then returned to the U.S. to be one of the first hires with People Express Airlines.

John met Marilyn Sanders, a Professor of Pharmacology at Rutgers Medical School, in 1986. He bought a 1946 Piper PA-12 Supercruiser and a Cessna 180 Skywagon. Marilyn obtained a pilots license.

Together they explored the western and southwestern U.S. by air. They were married in 2002, moved to Marfa, TX in 2003, and enjoyed many trips together.

John is survived by Marilyn and his sister, Jennifer Ann Gunn, a teacher and water color artist. His other sister, Janis Delara, an accomplished singer in San Antonio, passed away in 2025. Services and burial plans will be announced later.