John Windham was born at Santa Anna, Texas on August 3, 1925. After graduating from high school at Ellisville, Mississippi, he volunteered for the Army Air Corps during WWII. He joked that he didn't get into combat because Germany gave up when they heard he was coming as a flight engineer on B-17's; Japan did the same when his crew headed that way on B-29's. Timing, he said, helped a little.

After the war John received BS and MS degrees in Business Administration at Mississippi State University, then became an agent at the Federal Bureau of Narcotics in New Orleans. The same year (1951) he married his childhood sweetheart, Merle LeGuin, and they had four children, Robert, David, Jeff and Charlotte. Robert, of Spokane, Washington, has sons Tyler and Andrew. Jeff and his wife Elisabeth also live in the Spokane area and have children Meredy Samek (Matt), Evan (Katelyn), Lydia and Landin. David and his wife Paula live in Santee, California, and have three children, Ryan (Paula), Justin (Jenny) and Lauren Baladez (Carlos). Charlotte lives in Antioch, California, with her husband Eric, and they have four children, Matthew (Jenna), Kacey Jackson (Nick), Robin and Bonnie Ferguson (Frank). Merle and John dearly loved the grandchildren and were adept at spoiling them.

In addition to the four children, 13 grandchildren, and 8 great grandchildren, John is survived by sisters Louise Bradley of Moselle, Mississippi, and Janis Hill Newton of Stringer, Mississippi.

During his career with the Bureau of Narcotics (which evolved into the Drug Enforcement Administration) John served in ten offices throughout the country. He was the agent in charge of several, including Birmingham, Portland, Kansas City, Detroit and San Diego. After retirement in 1975 he became a real estate broker in San Diego for a few years and, with partners, owned two offices in Rancho Bernardo.

But John could never get the anti-drug work out of his system. In 1982 he and several others established a non-profit group called "Tough on Drugs." They recruited 250 'movers and shakers' in thirty states to volunteer in drug prevention efforts and were successful in helping improve sentences of drug peddlers and reducing demand. The program ended in 1992 when things were looking better. By 2004 the problem had worsened again and many of the same group, working with the family of Enrique "Kiki" Camarena (the DEA agent who was kidnapped and murdered by drug traffickers in Mexico in 1985), established the Enrique S. Camarena Educational Foundation. John was president of the foundation for four years.

John and Merle were married for 50 years. When Merle died in 2002, John missed her terribly. Fortunately, he was blessed with good health in his golden years, and spent his time organizing family get-togethers (affectionally called "The Bubbafest"), keeping in touch with his fellow former agents, hosting poker games, and traveling. His last years at home were made possible by the wonderful help and care provided by Julia Yanez and Brenda Yanez, to whom the family is very grateful. John passed away October 10, 2018 at the age of 93 having lived a long, full, purposeful life.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Camarena Foundation ( camarenafoundation.org ).