John W. Bessent

John W. Bessent, age 86, passed away peacefully on May 1, 2023 at his home with family and friends by his side. He was born on April 7, 1937 to William and Mabel (Hewlett) Bessent in Bristol, England.

For 66 years he was the beloved husband of Bunny Bessent. He was the proud father of David, Deborah, Christine and Tracy (Kevin) Willoughby; and the loving grandfather of Sarah, Lauren (Colin) and Jenna. A special thank you to his beloved caregivers, Vlad Chubatko, Lois Kimball, Alex Svintsytskyi, and Rosa Jadamba.

John became an entrepreneur at a very young age. John and Bunny’s first business venture was a small laundromat in Milwaukee. John was educated in engineering and realized washing other people’s clothing was not for him. He then went on to start his first technology company, Micro Design which was a company that designed and manufactured microfiche readers. This successful business was purchased and John had to switch gears for a while as part of the agreement. In 1978 he and a partner founded AdTech Industries; an industrial coatings company located in Watertown Wisconsin which he continued to own throughout his life. He took responsibility of the sales of the company and connected with his customers by assisting them with the engineering of their products. In time, John found his passion for microfiche had not left him and he founded a second microfiche reader manufacturing company, Eye Communication Systems. John had the unique ability to see the big picture and he had the talent, determination, and guts to turn his dreams into reality. John was a very successful businessman, that was well known but in addition, John touched many people’s lives. He always encouraged young entrepreneurs either by investing in their ideas or buying their products whether he needed them or not. When he saw a person in need, he would help them in the most discreet way because recognition was never his intent. He was a generous and kind man. John always said ‘the best thing you can give a person is an education” and that he did for so many people. He wanted to give people the tools to believe in themselves and contribute to the world.

A Visitation will be held from 3:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. on Monday, May 8, 2023 at Pagenkopf Funeral Home, 2228 N. Silver Maple Lane in Oconomowoc.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in John’s name to the Alzheimer’s Association.