John was born on December 24th, 1922. John's father was James Porter Naanes and his mother was Florence May Ellis. His paternal grandfather was Hugh Naanes and his paternal grandmother is Eliza Jane Davis. He had two sisters named Vera and Alma. He was the youngest of the three children. He had a half-sister named Ruby. He died at the age of 47 on April 13th, 1970 in Harris County, Texas.