BaliDiscovery has sadly learned of the death of John Albert Semone at his home in San Rafael, California, on the morning of 08 September 2026.
John Semone was 92 years old.
Born in Detroit, Michigan, on 08 June 1934, John Semone grew up in the small suburban community of Center Line, where latent wanderlust showed up as a massive collection of travel brochures and National Geographic Magazines stored in orange crates. After high school, he attended Wayne State University, spending his summers working as a crew member on the SS South American, a passenger steamship sailing the Great Lakes. With a pronounced admiration for life at sea, John signed on for a four-year stint with the US Coast Guard in 1954. Following his uniform service, John completed his college studies, earning a degree in Geography from San Francisco State University,
While studying in San Francisco, John worked for a period as an environmentalist, teaming with the renowned Dr. Newton B. Drury at Save the Redwoods League.
Later, traveling with a friend, John sailed for Europe, touring England, France, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy. Returning to the USA, John booked passage on the SS Hanseatic where he encountered a comely German girl from Sachsenhausen traveling to visit her sister in Oregon. Games of on-deck shuffleboard sparked what became a lifelong romance with Gerlinde Ausserehl, who stayed by his side, holding his hand for some seven decades, until he passed peacefully in San Rafael on 08 September.
As a married man with a college degree, John embarked on a lifelong journey as a legendary promoter of travel to the Asia-Pacific. He began his travel career at a steamship company, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, and later at Air New Zealand. John opened Air New Zealand’s Chicago office before shifting to San Francisco to become the Airline’s District Sales Manager.
In the mid-1980s, John joined the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) as Director of Marketing and Chapter Services. John worked as a fabled partner of Jerry Picolla, and together they became unrivaled leaders in the Asia-Pacific. Jerry and John are credited with conceptualizing and creating PATA Travel Mart – the premier marketing platform for travel in the Asia-Pacific. John also played a pivotal role in relocating PATA Headquarters from San Francisco to Bangkok, Thailand, in 1998. In 2000, John was charged with opening PATA’s European Representative Office in Monaco, serving as Managing Director for Europe for PATA, promoting the Asia-Pacific to Europe for eight years,
Active in the local community, John also served as Chairman of the PATA Northern California Chapter, President of SKAL San Francisco, and President of the Foreign Travel Club of San Francisco. He also volunteered in the campaign to save San Francisco’s iconic cable cars.
Together,, Gerlinde and John traveled the globe and spent years together, becoming proud parents to Peter and Sabrina and, in time, doting grandparents to five — Morgan, Simone, Madyson, Savannah and Hunter.
John’s son Peter has carried on his Father’s proud legacy in Travel, rising to become the Bangkok-based Chairman of the Board for PATA 2022-2026.
John Albert Semone
1934 – 2026
Related Links
PATA Website – Pacific Asia Travel Association
PATA Legend RIP:Gerald Picolla (1936-2023)
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