John DeBoer married Elaine Ackerson soon after he graduated from Hastings College in 1968. Together they have five children: John, Wendy, Andrew, Matthew and Johanna, who all attended Hastings College. Now their oldest grandson is a senior at Hastings, and his younger brother is a freshman.
DeBoer retired after 39 years from his position as chief administrative officer and partner of Omaha-based Midwest Laboratories, Inc., a large non-medical laboratory. Prior to that, he served as an administrator in the Omaha Public Schools Title One program.
He currently serves on the board of The Council of Independent Nebraska Colleges Foundation., and is a trustee of the Business Ethics Alliance in Omaha and heads the Alliance revenue committee. He formed a mentoring program under the Alliance that pairs young professionals from the Alliance with senior business leaders from the Omaha community. He previously served as board president of the Responsible Nutrient Management Foundation.
As a bereaved parent, DeBoer served as president of the National Board of Directors of The Compassionate Friends, a national organization with 600 chapters offering support to families after the death of a child.
In retirement, John and Elaine enjoy family activities with all of their children and grandchildren. He is also delighted to be returning to Hastings College in a new role after being a student, then a parent, a grandparent and now a Trustee.
DeBoer was elected to the board in 2019 and sits on the Oversight Committee, the Facilities Committee and serves as a vice chair of the Board.
