Jon Brower Minnoch was the only child of John and June Minnoch of Bainbridge Island, Wash. From a young age, Jon’s weight was noticeably above average. By the time he was 12, he weighed 294 pounds, signaling a trajectory that would continue throughout his life. When he was 21, Jon married his first wife, 18-year-old Jean McArdle. They went on to have two sons, John and Jason, but the marriage didn’t last. Jon operated Bainbridge Island Taxi Co., and by the time he was 22 he weighed 392 pounds. By 1966, he had ballooned up to 700 pounds, and by 1976 he tipped the scales at 975 pounds. Needless to say, he developed significant heart, circulation and respiratory issues. In 1978, a dozen firemen removed the windows at Jon’s home to get him out of the house and into an ambulance. Endocrinologist Dr. Robert Schwartz, who attended to Jon in the hospital, estimated that he weighed at least 1,400 pounds, maybe more. He put Jon on a 1,200-calorie diet and a diuretic. Within a year, he was down to 540 pounds, with a goal of 210 pounds. Despite his monumental achievement of losing 900 pounds, Jon was hospitalized again in 1981, having gained back nearly 200 pounds. In 1982, Jon married his second wife, but within a year, Jon’s weight caught up with him and he passed away on Sept. 4, 1983, three weeks shy of his 42nd birthday. He weighed 798 pounds. His primary cause of death was cardiac arrest with respiratory failure, lung disease and obesity being contributing factors. His casket measured 5 feet by 7½ feet and spanned two burial plots. Eleven men were required to place the casket on a truck that carried him to his final resting place.
