John Benavidez, Jr.

John (Johnny) “Spider” Benavidez of Greeley, Colorado, passed away peacefully, on August 18, 2025, at Pathways of Northern Colorado.

John was born in Greeley to John Cristobal and Mary Arguello Benavidez. He grew up in Greeley and graduated from Greeley Central High School where he participated in cross country, track, and baseball. After graduating, he was a youth baseball coach while employed by Monfort of Colorado Packing Plant. He then went on to work as a flagger for the Colorado Dept of Transportation for several years. He received a college degree in Psychology and volunteered at Hospice before retiring from the Walmart Distribution Center.

John was passionate about running and ran in marathons every year until health reasons forced him to stop running. He enjoyed baseball (the Yankees were his favorite team) and loved his classic cars – especially his 1950 Chevy truck that he entered in car shows every year. He loved spending time with his children, fishing, and watching science fiction television shows, the History channel, and National Geographic. In addition, he enjoyed reading fantasy books.

John is survived by his children; Ann Velasquez, Valerie (Jason) Mertz, and Gabriel Benavidez, and his two grandchildren: Daivyan Benavidez and Daija Benavidez, brother Jose B, and two sisters Rosie and Florinda, in addition to a large and loving extended family.

He was preceded in death by his parents, brothers Joseph (Joe), Victor, Daniel, and Navarro, and sister Antonia.

John’s Celebration of Life service will be held at the Northern Colorado Crematory on September 29th, 2025, at 1pm, followed by a gathering at Kimberly’s Event Center at 3pm to honor and share memories of him.