Chaplain Colonel John O. Lundin, 80, of Springfield

A Celebration of John's Life will be held at 10:30 AM, next Friday, July 16 , 2021 at the Trinity Lutheran Church in Yankton. The service will be live streamed on the Peters Funeral Home Facebook page. Visitation will be the hour prior to services at the church. A private burial with military honors will be held at the Bethlehem Lutheran Cemetery, rural Avon. In lieu of flowers, memorials will be directed to the Salvation Army or the Trinity Lutheran Laundry Project. Peters Funeral Home in Springfield is in charge of arrangements.

John Olaf Lundin was born in St. Joseph Hospital in Yankton, South Dakota on January 2, 1941. He grew up on the family homestead eight miles west of Springfield, South Dakota. He had one brother, Perry Lundin, and four sisters, Kathryn Uken, Mary Sykes, Janice Crea, and Connie Dresbach. Also living in the house were his parents James and Cornelia (DeRoos) Lundin, two grandmothers and his bachelor uncle, Johnny Lundin. Many relatives moved in and out over the years.

John went to a one room schoolhouse, Kirkwood. After high school he went to Augustana College in Sioux Falls, and then on to Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN. While in college he got a job selling Wear Ever Cooking utensils. His boss was Melvin Hickenbotham. He married the boss's daughter, Ruth Ellen Hickenbotham at First Lutheran Church in Sioux Falls on August 10, 1963. On August 1, 1964 Christina Anna Lundin was born, and they moved to St. Paul. On June 6, 1968, Nathan Eric was born, and the family moved to rural Crooks, SD to his first parish, West Nidaros Lutheran Church. He loved it there and made many lifelong friends and they taught him how to be a Pastor. On March 25, 1975 Kathleen Jennifer Page was born. A year later John was in the Air Force and the family moved to George AFB near Victorville, CA, and he loved it. 18 months later John moved the family to Brookings and left for Osan AFB Korea. A year later he came back with Douglas Choi, our adopted black/Korean almost-4 year old son. Smart, exciting, loveable Doug. From there we went on to Andrews AFB Maryland, the Pentagon, RAF Bentwaters/Woodbridge in England, Keesler AFB in Biloxi, MS, Wurtsmith AFB in Oscoda, MI, Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO, Ramstein AB in Germany, and back to Andrews AFB in Washington, DC.

He and Ruth cared for John's parents for many years. His father died in Michigan, his mother died in 2000 at Andrews AFB. He then retired from the Air Force. John had a consulting business for a while, and then got a parish in St. Charles, MO at Hope Lutheran Church, near his son Nathan. He loved it. After 12 years there he retired again. He was 76. Finally, they were able to move back to the farm in Springfield.

Ruth told him he definitely could not go into politics, though he loved politics. He did join Rotary in Yankton, SD, American Legion in Springfield, SD, and a program in the prison called Alternatives to Violence. The joined Trinity Lutheran Church in Yankton, and he started doing Pulpit Fill in the area. Then he did an interim at Trinity Lutheran in Mitchell, SD. He enjoyed it so much.

In the winter, he and Ruth would head for Winter Garden, Florida, and move in with their daughter Christy and her husband Roger Zalneraitis. It did not hurt that their daughter Katy and her husband Neff Guardia and two children live there too, and several other grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Whenever he held those children for the first time, he had tears in his eyes.

He died on Friday, July 2, 2021. He was trying to put out a grass fire with a shovel when he inhaled smoke and passed out. He never regained consciousness. John loved life, family, people, learning, teaching, preaching, and praying. He loved his God and his country. John enjoyed afternoon coffee with the Old Farts (guys) at Norm's Bar. And he loved me and our cat. He will be missed.

Thankful for having shared his life are his wife Ruth of Springfield, SD; four children: Christy (Roger) Zalneraitis of Winter Garden, FL, Nathan (Sara) Lundin of St. Charles, MO, Doug (Jennifer) Lundin of Vail, AZ, and Katy (Neff) Guardia of Winter Garden, FL; 10 grandchildren; three great grandchildren; two sisters: Mary Sykes (Mel Nygaard) of Roseburg, OR, and Janice (Joe) Crea of CO; brother-in-law Steve Dresbach of Lawrence, KS; sister-in-law Ursula Lundin of Ft. Worth, TX; and many nieces and nephews.

John was preceded in death by his parents, sisters: Kathryn Uken and Connie Dresbach; and brother Perry Lundin.