John G. Behmke, 87, former publisher of Electrical Wholesaling, Electrical Construction & Maintenance and Electrical Marketing, passed away on June 17. A graduate of Northwestern University and a World War II veteran who served as a mounted rifleman in the U.S. Horse Cavalry at Ft. Riley Kan., and as an MP in Calcutta, India, Behmke worked for McGraw-Hill for 25 years before retiring with his wife, Betty, to Mercer Island, Wash.
He was publisher of McGraw-Hill’s Electrical Group from 1986-1992. McGraw-Hill sold Electrical Wholesaling, Electrical Construction & Maintenance and Electrical Marketing to Intertec Publishing, Overland Park, Kan., in 1989. John made many friends on the staffs of the publications and in the electrical industry during his six years with the magazines and he was instrumental in ensuring a smooth transition for the former employees who moved with the publications from the East Coast to the Kansas City area in 1992. Our thoughts and prayers are with Betty, their children, and grandchildren.