Verden L. Rinkenberger, 92, of Morton, died at 11:25 a.m. Sunday, March 7, 2010, at his home. He was born Dec. 4, 1917, in Wolcott, Ind., to Chris C. and Alice A. (Punke) Rinkenberger. He married Elma A. Kaiser on Oct. 18, 1941, in Morton.
Surviving are his wife, Elma Rinkenberger of Morton; two sons, James A. (Marcia) Rinkenberger and Charles S. (Kristin) Rinkenberger, both of Morton; one daughter, Jane M. (Jim) Kolar of Leawood, Kan.; six grandchildren, Amy (Brodie) Hall of Denver, Colo., Kelly (Tommy) Hartford of Chicago, Josh Schneider of Denver, Ali (Brian) Andersen of Waunakee, Wis., Teel Rinkenberger and Bryce Rinkenberger, both of Boulder, Colo.; 10 great-grandchildren, Addison, Nicholas and Braden Hall, Thomas, Jack, Max and Sophia Hartford, Reece, Brooks and Jones Andersen; three brothers, Cleo (Esther) Rinkenberger of Peoria, Ed (Dorothy) Rinkenberger of Spring, Texas, and Glen Rinkenberger of Burlington, Iowa; and two sisters, Waunita (Sam) Hirstein and Bernice (Henry) Rapp, both of Morton.
He was preceded in death by one son, Donald Rinkenberger, in 1957 and one brother, Lavern.
A World War II Army Air Forces veteran, he was drafted on Jan. 16, 1941, in the first draft out of Morton serving stateside at various Air Force bases before being sent to Italy for 14 months. He returned home from Italy on the day World War II ended in 1945 as a staff sergeant.
Upon returning home from the service, Verden founded the Morton Welding Co. in 1946 which he operated for over 30 years before turning the business over to his sons.
He was a charter member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5921 and a lifetime member of American Legion Post 318, both in Morton.
A member and past Board Director of the Morton Chamber of Commerce, he was the 1997 Pumpkin Festival Parade Grand Marshal and the 2007 recipient of the Distinguished Service Award.
He served on the Morton Grade School Board from 1960 to 1969, three terms, before the Morton School District consolidated and was president of the board for one year. He also served on the Morton Planning and Zoning Commission for several years.
A 30-year member of the Morton Rotary Club, he had perfect attendance for all 30 years and in 2006 he donated to the Rotary Foundation so 51 Morton Rotarians could become Paul Harris Fellows. He also was a member of the Morton Optimist Club.
Verden attended Grace Church in Morton, where services will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, March 12, 2010, with Pastor Doug Habegger officiating. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday, March 11, at Grace Church in Morton. Further visitation will be from 9 to 9:45 a.m. Friday at the church. Burial will be in the Morton Apostolic Christian Church Cemetery, where military services will be conducted by the United States Air Force.
Knapp-Johnson Funeral Home in Morton is handling arrangements.
Memorials may be made to Central Illinois Young Life and the Peoria Children’s Home.
To view Verden’s video tribute or to leave an online condolence for the family, visit www.knappjohnson.com.
