POWNAL, Vt. —  John Dage Werner, 81 of Pownal, Vermont passed away peacefully April 22, 2026 at his home surrounded by friends and family due to complications from a recent illness.

He was born in Passaic, New Jersey November 20, 1944 to parents Eric Sixten Werner and Daga Elvira (Nygren) Werner. He grew up in Holderness, New Hampshire on Squam Lake, where his parents operated camp cabins at Vinga Court. He attended Holderness School before attending Clarkson University. He joined the United States Navy as an E3 and was stationed in Hawaii and Vietnam. During his spare time while stationed in Hawaii he developed his lifelong passion for aviation and obtained his Private Pilot License. He also ran the hobby shop on the base where he built a car from spare parts of various models, that he would later ship to California and drive across the country back home to New Hampshire. He was then transferred to a station in Da Nang, Vietnam where he drove a truck as part of Naval Support Activities.

When his military service ended, he traveled to Europe and purchased a new BMW motorcycle that he still owned at the time of his death. He toured Europe over a period of 3 months totaling more than 11,000 miles and visiting nearly every country in Western Europe. Upon returning to the United States, he continued his interest in aviation by attending Northrop University in California to get his Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic Ratings. With these ratings he was hired in 1972 by Sprague Aviation at the North Adams Airport in Massachusetts. He continued to work there when the company became Turboprop International and he rose to a position of vice president. In 1993 he formed his own company Werner Aero, and began traveling the world doing pre-purchase inspections of primarily Beechcraft King Airs using knowledge he gained working on them the previous 20 years. In this job he traveled over 2 million miles and visited over 45 countries across North America, South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia until retiring in 2015.

Growing up on Squam Lake led to a lifelong love of water sports including boating, water skiing, wind surfing and SCUBA diving. Always mechanically inclined, he built his own house, and soon realized he needed more room for projects, and built an 8-car garage as well. He would always attempt to repair something before he would consider replacing it and would often succeed in resurrecting something that would have been a lost cause to most others. One of his favorite stories was finding an outboard motor on the bottom of Squam Lake while SCUBA diving and bringing it back home where he cleaned it up and was able to make it run again. Other projects were British sports cars; he was a founding member of the Berkshire British Motorcar Club and would participate in club drives with his Triumph Spitfire.

John was preceded in death by his parents, Eric and Daga, and his niece Alison Werner Barton. He is survived by his brother Eric Sixten Werner, Jr. and wife Karen of Exeter, New Hampshire, his nephew Brian Werner and wife Amy of New Cannan, Connecticut and their three children Alexander, Theodore, and Penelope; his former wife, Audrey Liese Werner of Williamstown, Massachusetts; and their son, John Andrew Werner of Pownal, Vermont. John was his father’s greatest pride and joy.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the VNA & Hospice of the Southwest Region, 7 Albert Cree Drive, Rutland, VT 05701. We thank this organization and their incredible caregivers for the wonderful care John received.

Services will be held at the Flynn & Dagnoli West Chapel, 521 West Main Street, North Adams, MA on May 3rd. Calling hours will be 2-4 pm and a memorial service at West Chapel at 4:00 pm. A private burial service will take place on a later date. To add to the book of memories, please visit www.flynndagnolifuneralhomes.com