John Albert Glendening, 89 and lifelong resident of Stockton, Kansas, passed away December 9, 2019. Adryn and Goldye (Hazen) Glendening gave birth to John on September 9, 1930 in Stockton, Kansas. After graduating from Stockton High School in 1948, John served in the United States Army for two years. During his service, John was stationed in Korea and earned the Korean Service Medal with 3 Bronze Service Stars and the United Nations Service Medal.
After concluding his military service, John returned to Stockton and married his high school sweetheart, Delores Vose, on June 24, 1951. John’s mechanical knowledge and enjoyment of interacting with the community led to a long career in automotive repair. In 1963, John branched out on his own and established John’s Auto Repair. His automotive repair and painting business served many Stockton and Rooks County residents for over four decades. In his younger years he enjoyed racing “micro midgets”. He also loved to watch and help his boys and grandkids with their races. Outside of racing and mechanics John and Delores never missed any of their grandkids’ sporting events.
John was a proud Stockton citizen his entire life, and assisted several community activities and organizations. As a member of the Lions Club, John was instrumental in organizing annual pancake breakfasts and the popular stock car races. He was also a lifetime member of the VFW.
John’s faith contributed to his many activities with the United Methodist Church. During their sixty-eight years of marriage, John and Delores created a loving family with four children, eight grandchildren and sixteen great-grandchildren.
He is survived by his four children; Bob (Teresa) of Stockton, Brad (Alice) of Wichita, KS, Deena (Greg) Lighty of Augusta, KS, and Todd (Vernon) of San Diego, CA; sister, Patricia (Pat) Renze of Wichita; eight grandchildren, Adam (Jen) of Halstead, Jason (Shellee) of Phillipsburg, Aaron (Shannon) of McPherson, Nathan (Julie) of Stockton, Amy of Wichita, Charles Lighty of Augusta, Jordan (Michael) Carpenter of Stockton, and Jeremy Hrabe of Dodge City; and several great-grandchildren
John was preceded in death by his wife Delores and his sister, Betty Hunter.
A funeral service will be held on Thursday, December 12, 2019 at Plumer-Overlease Funeral Home in Stockton at 2:00 PM with a burial to follow at the Stockton City Cemetery. Visitation will be on Wednesday, December 11, 2019 starting at 4:00 PM until 8:00 PM at the funeral home. Memorials are suggested to Solomon Valley Manor or United Methodist Church of Stockton and may be sent in care of Plumer-Overlease Funeral Home, 723 N First, Stockton, KS 67669.