John Tower Churchill died on June 26 in Menlo Park, Calif., after a courageous battle with cancer. He was 48. His quick wit, ready laugh and masterful storytelling skills are sorely missed by all who knew him.

He was an enthusiastic, longtime summer visitor to Martha’s Vineyard. His parents in law, Barbara Day and The Rev. Robert C. Day, live in Vineyard Haven and lived in West Tisbury for many years, and the Barbara Blackwell Whidden Day family has been summer residents for generations.

John was born on Oct. 25, 1967 in Evanston, Ill., and attended schools on the North Shore of Chicago and the University of Arizona, where he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. Upon graduation, he moved to Hollywood with the intention of working for esteemed director David Lynch. Within six months, he had secured a position as Mr. Lynch’s driver, and ultimately became first assistant director to Mr. Lynch on several films, including the Oscar-winning Straight Story and Inland Empire a movie about film-making, in which John appeared on screen as the first assistant director to a director played by Jeremy Irons. He also worked with director Werner Herzog, among many others.

John married Elizabeth Day of Boston and the Vineyard on June 19, 1999, and they started a family in Los Angeles. The couple then moved to Menlo Park, where John took a position with Apple, Inc., traveling around the world to film various projects. An active father who was dedicated to the Menlo Park community, John coached his children’s Little League and basketball teams.

He is survived by his wife Elizabeth Day Churchill and three children, Frederick (13), Robert (11), and Lucy (7). He is also survived by his parents, Barbara and John A. Churchill, his sisters Anne Churchill Coffey and Elizabeth Churchill Cattan, and loving in laws, nieces, nephews, and many other cousins and relatives.

A service and celebration of John’s life will be on July 9 at 1 p.m. at St. Bede’s Episcopal Church in Menlo Park with reception to follow. An interment service will be held in the summer at Abel’s Hill cemetery in Chilmark.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a contribution to The Churchill Family Support Fund via check to c/o Peters, 325 Sharon Park Drive, #437, Menlo Park, CA 94025 or via GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/churchillfamfund.

Thank you for your consideration and for the outpouring of your love and support of the Churchill family.