JOHN PENNING, age 75, of Wilmont, died Monday, September 18, 2023, at the Sunset Hospice Cottage in Worthington. He was born May 14, 1948, in Adrian, to Clarence and Harriet (Hoffman) Penning. John graduated from Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic School in Wilmont. He later attended Vets Ag School. He served his country in the United States Army from 1966 to 1969 during the Vietnam War.

John married Carolyn Paulzine on November 12, 1977 in Wilmont. After their marriage, the couple farmed between Reading and Wilmont. They moved into Wilmont in 2013.

He was a member of Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church in Wilmont where he served on the church board and as an usher.  He also served on the FMHA Board; the Wilmont Elevator Board from 1983 to 1999; Nobles County Public Works since 2016; the Coop Energy Board from 2006 to 2022; and the 5-Star Fertilizer Board. He was a life member of the Wilmont VFW Post 2603 and the  DAV. John enjoyed farming, trucking cattle, and playing poker and pinochle with his family and friends. John was Santa Claus in Wilmont from 1970 to 1976. He & Carolyn were foster parents for eleven years from 1986 to 1997, and they were the Farm Family of the Year in 2008.

John is survived by his wife Carolyn Penning, Wilmont; six children, Coreen (Kent) Slater, Rushmore; Angela (Bobby) Ferguson, Ponder, TX; Gregory (Jana) Penning, Wilmont; Brian (Angela) Penning, Wilmont; Russell (Melanie) Penning, Wilmont; and Michael (Erin) Hoffman, Rushmore; twenty-three grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and five siblings, Joanne (Norm) Klein, Reading; Richard (Cindy) Penning, Wilmont; Charlotte (John) DeChaine, Bozeman, MT; Christina (Lynn) Vosler, Belgrade, MT; and Kathleen (Monte) Brown, Helena, MT.

He was preceded in death by his parents; and two brothers, Anthony in 2002; and Thomas in 2023.

Visitation will be from 4-7 pm Sunday, Sept. 24 at Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church in Wilmont, with Parish Prayers at 4. Visitation also one hour prior to the service at the church on Monday. Funeral Mass will be 10:30 am Monday at Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church, in Wilmont, officiated by Monsignor Richard Colletti. Burial with full military honors provided by the Wilmont VFW will be in the Calvary Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to the Wilmont VFW or the Sunset Hospice Cottage.

Dingmann Funeral Home, in Wilmont, is in charge of arrangements.