John Henning was born on April 7, 1923 at home in Kosciusko Township, Day County, South Dakota. John's parents were Conrad Henning and Valeria (Block) Henning.

John was the grandson of immigrants who came to this country during a time of expansion. His grandparents were proud of what they had accomplished and the American citizenship which they realized. John reminisced on stories that his grandfather, Bernard told him about the "old country" while herding cattle. Times soon changed. John's formative years were during the Great Depression, which imprinted upon him the frugality that was common for so many of that generation.

During the 1940's, with John's two brothers, William and Henry serving in the military, John and his brother Raymond remained on the home-front, tending the farm, which was an important part of the war effort. During this time, John took to trapping and raising sheep, to begin to bankroll his future investments. About that time, John met the love of his life, Dorothy Kurkowski. After a proper courtship, John and Dorothy were married on June 1, 1948. Moving off the farm to Grenville, John began work for the Grenville Farmer's Elevator, which he later managed. In 1958, he purchased the farm from Paul Dargatz, on which he lived the remainder of his life but for the last two years.

John had a wide and varied network of relatives and friends. John worked hard but also enjoyed the companionship baseball, hunting, fishing and playing cards brought. John especially enjoyed hunting with his brothers William, Henry and Raymond; brothers-in-law Robert Kirchmeier, Ronald Davidson, Leonard Kurkowski and Kermit Dahling. There had to also be time for cards with Roman and Irene Okroi and Leo and Verna Mondry. These were just some of the special people in his life.

John loved agriculture and lived his dream. John was on the board or a member of many local organizations, related to ag, community or church. His opinions on matters were respected. Many of John's friends and relatives sought his advice in matters of any importance for John was known for clear thinking and pragmatism.

John enjoyed to tinker. Some of John's ideas were forward thinking and ahead of their time, an example of which is the use of single-pass tillage well before the idea became mainstream.

John and Dorothy enjoyed music. Together they attended many dances. They danced until Dorothy's health was impacted by cancer but that did not stop them. They continued to dance until January 2003 when Dorothy left John's side.

Since that time, John remained on the farm spending winters with one of his children. In November of 2015, John moved off the farm and
resided in his son's home in Spearfish, South Dakota.

John left us on March 26, 2018, peacefully, after receiving last rites, at home.

Preceding John in death were his parents, Conrad and Valeria, his wife of 54 years, Dorothy, brothers, Henry, William, Raymond, sisters, Elenora (Henning) Anderson, Irene (Henning) Okroi and Dorothy (Henning) Dahling; brothers-in-law Leonard Kurkowski, Thomas Herrick, Roman Okroi, Kermit Dahling and sisters-in-law Yolda (Martinez) Kurkowski, Modesta (Herrick) Henning, Dorothy (Paszek) Henning. Left to survive John are his five children: Calvin (Denise Rattigan) Henning, David (Lynn Whaley) Henning, Joseph (Nadezhda Sherbakova) Henning, Diane Henning, and Carol Henning Bowers. His sister, Theresa (Henning) Herrick. His brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, William (Adeline Kurkowski) Jaskulka, Ronald (Florence Kurkowski) Davidson, Robert (Esther Kurkowski) Kirchmeier, James (Marcia Lefman) Kurkowski and Agnita (Simonson) Henning. Grandchildren: Jeffrey Nygard, Karri Henning, Robert Henning, Jonathan Henning, Rachel Henning Amador, Elena Skulkina Abbas, Katherine Henning, Christy McCoy, Casey McCoy Hackett, and Kaitlyn McCoy. Great-Grandchildren: Quinton Nygard, Brooke Nygard, Layne Henning, Isabella Treacy, Aubrey Henning, Jackson Henning, Joshua Henning, Lucas Amador, Nathan Amador, Benson Hackett, Landon Abbas, and Logan Abbas. John also had many nephews and nieces that were dear to him.

St. Joseph's parish of Grenville, SD was the lifelong center of John's religious activities. A memorial service and inurnment will be at St. Joseph's at a later date.

John is gone today but will live on for a long time to come.

Online condolences may be written at www.fidler-isburgfuneralchapels.com