Sergeant Major (Retired) John Philip Bersalona, 50, Kansas City, Kansas and formerly of Marshfield, died unexpectedly on Tuesday, May 26, 2015 at St. Luke's Cushing Hospital, in Leavenworth, Kansas. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 am on Friday, June 5, 2015 at Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church, Marshfield with Rev. Eric Berns officiating. Burial will take place in Gate of Heaven Cemetery where militrary rites will be conducted and serving as pallbearers will be James Bersalona, Joseph Bersalona, John Kuhn, Michael Bersalona, Mark Bersalona, Richard Bersalona, Edgar Sarino, Jason Sarino, and Ronald Querido. The visitation will be held on Friday from 9:00 am until service time at Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church. Rembs Funeral Home is assisting the family. John was born on April 2, 1965 in Rochester, Minnesota, to Fernando and Rachel (Sarino) Bersalona and was a 1983 graduate of Columbus High School. He then attended the University of Wisconsin, Madison where he obtained his Bachelor's degree in Physical Education and then received a Master's degree in Exercise Science from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. John's military education includes courses at every level of the NCO Education System where he exceeded course standards. Some of the functional courses he had completed include the Armored Support Vehicle New Equipment Training Course, FBCB2 New Equipment Training Course, First Sergeants Course, and small Arms Readiness Mobilization Instructor Course. He attended OSUT training at Fort Knox, KY and received the MOS of 19E, Armor Crewman. He had been assigned to Laghman Province, Afghanistan; Ft. Lewis, WA; Camp Navistar, Kuwait; Ft. Irwin, CA; and various Traditional Army Reserve and National Guard unit locations in Arizona and Nevada. During his career he served in a variety of leadership and staff positions to include Operations Sergeant Major, Operations Sergeant, First Sergeant, Platoon Leader, Platoon Segeant, Tank Commander and Tank Crewman. His last assignment was the 1-221 Calvary Laghman Province, Afghanistan. He was a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom. Sergeant Major Bersalona's awards and decorations included the Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal, four awards of the Army Achievement Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Southwest Asia Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, NCO Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Army Overseas Ribbon, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, and the Combat Action Badge. Other professional achievements include winning the Soldier of the Year and NCO of the Year for the Arizona Army National Guard. John was an avid fan of the Wisconsin Badgers and the Green Bay Packers. John was united in marriage to Carrie Ramos on July 22, 2004 in Mesa, AZ. He is survived by his wife, Carrie and his parents, Dr. Fernando and Rachel Bersalona of Marshfield. He is also survived by 2 brothers and a sister, Dr. James Bersalona of Troy, MI, Joseph (Mindy) Bersalona of Harlingen, TX, and Janelle (John) Kuhn of Marshfield, and by nieces and nephews, Jaden and Jenna Bersalona and Maya, Noah, Jade, Caleb and Logan Kuhn. He was preceded in death by his grandparents. Memorials may be designated in John's name to the Wounded Warrior Project. Condolences may be sent online to www.rembsfh.com