John Atkins Van Valkenburg

JOHN ATKINS VAN VALKENBURG

April 21, 1949 – June 6, 2023

John died peacefully surrounded by family at the home of his sister on Tuesday, June 6, 2023.

John was born in Bertha, Minnesota to Russell and Doris Van Valkenburg on April 21, 1949. The family, including older sister Jean, lived on the family farm until 1952 when they moved to the Minneapolis area. During his childhood the family moved to Wayzata, Iowa and finally Hopkins, MN. The family grew to include two more sisters and one brother. John finished his schooling and graduated from Hopkins High School in 1967.

During and after high school John worked with his father at Sun Newspapers where he learned his craft as a newspaper pressman, eventually earning the title of master pressman. He was inducted into the U.S. Army in March 1969 and after serving in Viet Nam he was honorably discharged in 1971. After his Army service he returned to Sun Newspapers and worked there as pressman until he moved with his young family to Fort Worth, TX in 1984. He returned to Minnesota in 1997 and worked as master pressman for Shakopee Valley Printing until he retired in 2015.

John enjoyed being outdoors, hunting, camping and fishing with his sons and his cousins in the Long Prairie/Osakis area. He especially enjoyed his time at “deer camp” with Noel and Gerald and other friends from Long Prairie and often told stories of their fun times together.

John’s greatest love was his family…sons Dmitri “Deitz” and Kyle, his grandchildren and brother and sisters. His favorite occasions were Christmas holidays and picnics where the entire family gathered together to play card games, tease and joke, and remember stories of past days spent together.

John was preceded in death by his parents Russell and Doris Van Valkenburg, sister Janet (Bill) Hill and niece Kristen Hill. He is survived by sons Dmitri “Deitz” Van Valkenburg and Kyle Van Valkenburg, sisters Jean (Ray) Yunker and Joyce (Cliff) Specht, brother Joe Van Valkenburg, and many grandchildren, nieces and nephews.