John served for just a few days over a year when he was discharged for disability due to chronic diarrhea and typhoid fever. It was claimed that he contracted this illness on the march from Holly Springs to Nashville. His discharge papers indicate he was owed pay due as a hospital nurse and had served in that capacity since May of 1862.
After his discharge, John returned to Minnesota and his family. His wife, Orrendo, moved with John to Martin County, where they stayed for five years. John then moved the family to Elmore. John went into and taught in the of Faribault County for 57 years. He was a member of the Methodist Church and taught Sunday School for many years.
On March 24, 1899, John and Orrendo celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary, something John was very proud of. On his application for pension, he made special note that they had already celebrated that milestone and thought that a "golden wedding is good proof" of his marriage. During those 50 years, John and Orrendo had eight children, four born before his enlistment in the army.
Orrendo preceded John in death by 19 years; she died from gasoline burns.
John applied for a pension, but his claim was denied. The Pension Examiner concluded that the deafness and disease John suffered had been incurred prior to his enlisting in to the army. John wrote an eloquent, but heated, letter to the Department of Pensions stating he could prove without any doubt that he was a sound man when he enlisted. The case may never have been reopened as no further paperwork is found on John's application for a pension.
John was just over a month short of his 91st birthday when he died on June 29, 1918. He is buried beside his wife in Riverside Cemetery, Blue Earth City, Faribault County, Minnesota.
