John H. Minsker, Jr.

John Henry Minsker Jr. passed away on Saturday, March 25, 2023 at the age of 84.  He was born on February 2, 1939 in Buffalo, New York. He was the middle child of John H. Sr and Miriam R. Minsker.  He lived all his younger life in East Aurora, NY where most of his extended family resided as well.  His aunt was his elementary principal and his maternal grandfather, Charles Rosen, was the master printer and head of the Print Shop which was part of the Roycroft Arts and Crafts movement started by Elbert Hubbard.

John met his wife, Lois in kindergarten but they didn’t start dating until their senior year in high school.  They continued dating throughout college and got married in December of 1961.

After graduation from high school, John attended Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA, where he was a 3rd generation graduate in Engineering, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather.  While at Lehigh, he was a member and treasurer of Delta Upsilon Fraternity as well as the engineering society, Tau Beta Pi.

After graduating with a degree in Chemical Engineering, he began his career with Dow Chemical Company in Midland, MI.  He and Lois resided in Midland for 8 years and then were transferred to Lake Jackson, TX where he was in charge of the epoxy group.  After 10 years in Texas, John requested to be moved north in order to be closer to family.  Upon being transferred to Granville, OH, he was a lab director and then became a global leader later in his career.  As part of his job, John travelled extensively and often would take Lois with him.  They visited Europe, Japan, Hong Kong, Australia, and Malaysia together.

John and Lois raised 3 children: Brian (Barbara), Brenda (Robert LaRosa) and Rebecca (Joseph Lorenz).  They also had a German exchange student, Kathrin (Paul Lankes) whom they consider a daughter as well.  They have 7 grandchildren:  Andrew and Patrick Minsker, Eliana LaRosa, Madeline and Annalise Lorenz, and Louisa and Lilian Lankes.

John was raised with a strong faith as a United Methodist which helped guide him throughout his life. He taught adult Sunday school classes for almost 40 years both in Texas and Ohio.  John was an avid bowler and golfer during his life and was a member of both the Village and Vintage Voices choirs.  In his younger life, he was a paper delivery boy, played the French horn, was on his high school basketball and football teams as well as a Boy Scout.  One of the highlights of his scouting career was being able to attend the Boy Scout Jamboree in Irving, California.  The summer between his junior and senior years in high school, he was an exchange student to Switzerland.  This connection with his host family was strong and continues until this day.  John’s commitment to the AFS exchange program in which he participated in, continued throughout his adult life by volunteering and becoming president of the local chapter for many years.

John is survived by his wife of 61 years, Lois; four children and their spouses; seven grandchildren; sister, Betsy (Bill Kincaid); and eight nieces and nephews.

In addition to his parents, John was preceded in death by his brother and sister-in-law, Richard and Carol.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, April 1 at 2:00 pm at Centenary United Methodist Church, Granville.  A private burial will be held prior to the service.

The family will receive friends Friday, March 31st from 3:00 - 5:00 pm at the church. Online condolences may be expressed at www.mcpeekhoekstra.com.

In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate contributions in John’s memory be made to Centenary United Methodist Church, 102 E. Broadway Granville, OH 43023 – centenaryumc.com, AFS Intercultural Programs, 5 Hanover Square, Ste 1402, New York, New York 10004 – afs.org, or the Licking County Humane Society, 825 Thornwood Dr. SW, Heath, OH 43056 – lchspets.org.