John was born, raised, and still lives in Virginia, USA.  John attended elementary, middle, and high school in Fairfax County, and later attended the Northern Virginia Community College before enlisting in the U.S. Army where he served a three-year tour at Fort Benning, Georgia, Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Maryland, and Augsburg, Germany.  While in Augsburg, Germany, John had the privilege to work with a rock band called The Smiles.  John wrote for the group who released Baby nur Du (Baby Only You) & My Love is Gone single.  John separated from the service at Fort Dix, New Jersey. 

Although music is a prime part of his life (he performed in a variety of bands from the mid-1960's through the 1980's), the main focus of John's career was with Fairfax County Public Schools.  Most of his time was spent in the General Services Department holding many positions in the Inventory Operations and Procurement Branches.  In 1993 John was promoted to the position of Coordinator/Director of the Logistical Services Office in the Department of Facilities Services until his retirement in February 2005.

Hobbies and past-times include baseball and football, and especially music.  While living in Richmond (Virginia), John provided assistance to Lab Rescue of Greater Richmond as a foster parent.  John's personal on-site family now consists of his lab-mix, Charlie.

In 1996 John established Armentrout Enterprises Network (AENetwork.com) as a result of a need to place his local Babe Ruth League on the Internet.  To this day, AENetwork is an ongoing business specializing in youth sports organizations.  John manages about 30 websites across the Southeast,  Southwest, and Midwest Plains regions of the U.S.

John has been associated with Babe Ruth League, Inc. for more than 33 consecutive years, holding volunteer leadership positions at the local league, District, State, and Regional levels.  He started in 1988 as a T-Ball manager with the Greater Manassas Baseball League, located in northern Virginia.  From there he progressed through the many levels of the organization, and today he is the Assistant Commissioner, Operations, for the Southeast Region, Babe Ruth League, Inc.  John has held many other sports oriented positions in the Prince William Basketball Association, Fall High School Extended League, College Wood Bat Summer League, and the National Quarterback Club.

John has pioneered the use of Web-based technology in Babe Ruth League, starting at the local league level, then establishing the first Babe Ruth Leagues of Virginia website in 1999, and now being Webmaster for the Southeast Region, Southwest Region, and Midwest Plains Region, maintaining most of the State websites in the Southeast Region.  Downloadable manuals and forms, the Manager's Tournament Information Package, and on-line brackets featuring instant access to tournament score updates are a few of the many innovative time- and cost-saving online features that he has introduced.

As if this isn't enough to keep a body busy, John re-established contact with his musical buddy, Herbert Reiner, from Germany.  Through long-distance technology (Skype), together they continued to write songs and enjoy each others company until Herbert's untimely passing in November 2019.

Musically, John is a member of BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.), Minnesota Songwriters Association, and, in sports and education, is a member of the Virginia Parks & Recreation Association.