John Sinner

John Sinner, 92 of Webster died on Monday, November 27, 2017 at Sanford Hospital in Webster. His funeral will be at 10:30 A.M. Monday, December 4, 2017 at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Webster, Rev. Mike DeKraai will officiate. Military interment will be at Webster Cemetery. Visitation will be at Fiksdal Funeral Service in Webster on Sunday 5-7 P.M. and prior to services on Monday. Fiksdalfuneral.com. John was born November 18, 1925 to Theodore (Ted) and Ella (Ringstad) Sinner of Waubay, SD. He attended grade school and high school in Waubay, South Dakota and joined the U.S. Army during his senior year in January 1944. During his years of involvement in WWII he fought in the Battle of the Bulge, Colmar’s Pocket and Ruhr‘s Pocket. During his tour his travels mapped him through England, Belgium, France, Germany and Holland. He was honorably discharged on April 1, 1946 and returned home to Waubay. John was recently awarded the WWII medals and the Bronze Star by Senator John Thune. Upon returning to Waubay, John married Lois Schulz on December 31, 1948. They were married for 58 years until Lois passed away on January 25, 2006. To this union three boys were born, Ken, Brian and Joel. The couple made their home in Webster. After the service John used his GI Bill and received on the job training in auto body repair at Hudson Garage in Webster. He was reimbursed by the government and also paid by his employer. After seven years he realized he didn’t want to be an employee anymore, but wanted to run his own business. Then on February 1, 1956 they bought the auto body shop from Bernie Boik on Highway 12 in Webster. They had only $90 in the bank and borrowed all the money they could on their car and furniture to get the $800 to purchase the garage. They named it Sinner Auto Body and ran the shop for 59 ½ years until John’s retirement on August 1, 2015. He entered Bethesda Home in Webster in October 2016. Owning and managing the body shop was his life. He took great pride in being able to restore damaged vehicles back to their original condition. He was respected for his honesty and work ethic, as he put in many long hours to satisfy his customers. John also took great pride in the fact that he started his sons, Brian and Joel, on their body man careers from his shop. John enjoyed hunting, fishing on Blue Dog Lake, bowling, dancing, playing cards, and spending time with his grandchildren and great grandchildren. He also enjoyed all of the “coffee time” he had with everyone over the years at Perebooms, Pikes the Diner and the A&W. He was a member of St. John’s church, the Herbert McKennett Post 40 American Legion, V.F.W. Post 4690 and the South Dakota Auto Body Association. He was on the Church Council, City Council, Fire Department and was District Legionnaire of the year. John passed away on Monday, November 27, 2017 at Webster, South Dakota at the age of 92 years, He is survived by his sons, Ken (Karen) Sinner of Blue Dog Lake, Waubay, SD, Brian (Kim) Sinner of Webster, and Joel (Diana) Sinner of Webster, SD; six grandchildren, Deidra (Ryan) VanGilder, Dustin (Missy) Sinner, Katie Sinner, Shannon Sinner, Darin ( Megan) Sinner, and Taylor Sinner; four great grandchildren Kinsley, Kannon, Sawyer and McKenna. He was preceded in death by his wife Lois, his parents Ted and Ella, and siblings Ethel, Thelma, Swanie and Walt.