John L. Machado, Jr. (Johnny), was born on December 6, 1968, in Modesto, California. Who knew the wondrous life he would lead far from his farming roots of the San Joaquin Valley. Raised on the family ranch in Hughson, California and attending Hughson schools, he was able to enjoy a great childhood playing on the farm with his later-born sisters, Melanie and Monica. Johnny worked on the farm from a young age alongside his father, but by high school, one could already see he would be striking out on the road less traveled, and keeping him in his tiny hometown wasn’t going to happen.

Full of confidence, hopes, and dreams, he would go on to conquer the world, completing undergraduate work in art history at Stanislaus and San Diego State Universities, and a graduate degree at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the culture and art history of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. He worked at various museums and galleries and taught art history at universities and colleges in California, Oregon and Texas. From 2005 until present, John was a professor of art history at Chaffey College in Rancho Cucamonga, California, where he enjoyed sharing his collected knowledge and passion for culture and the arts with his many students.

It would seem that John had already accomplished quite a bit in one lifetime for any human being, but he wasn’t done yet. In 2015 he returned to graduate school to attain a master’s degree in arts management from Claremont Graduate University. He used his work from this program as a launching point to found The Arts Area, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, where he served as CEO and President of the Board from 2016 until his passing. As part of this role, he was active on various city and regional advisory committees in.

Right up there with his love of art, teaching, and serving others, was Johnny’s love of travel. He visited thirty-nine of the fifty American states. His international travel destinations included Austria, Azores, Belgium, Belize, Canada, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, England, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Jamaica, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, twenty-five states in Mexico, Netherlands, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Slovakia, Spain, and Switzerland.