John Martin Lobberecht Jr.

If you knew John Lobberecht, then you knew he worked at Morton Metalcraft right up until a week shy of his 79th birthday. You knew this because it became a staple of conversation over the next three years. He was a man fiercely proud of his independence, who loved going to work and being part of a community, who railed about the new out-of-town corporate owners when they steered him into retirement after 37 years. He spent the last three years of his life, even as he fell ill, wishing he were still patrolling the floor as a Quality Control Supervisor.

John Martin Lobberecht Jr., 82, of Peoria passed away at 12:49 a.m. Monday, June 6, 2016, at Methodist Medical Center. He was born Jan. 21, 1934, in Peoria, the son of John M. and Margaret E. Coburn Lobberecht Sr. He is preceded in death by his parents.

He married Lucy Matheny on April 5, 1962. John is survived by his children: John Lobberecht III of East Peoria, Joelle (David) Lobberecht Vecsey of Port Washington, N.Y., and Janet Lobberecht of Minneapolis; five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Working was important, but family was everything. John lamented that his children and his grandchildren and his great-grandchildren were spread across the country — though he was immeasurably proud of their lives, their careers and their adventures. Their pictures covered every inch of his refrigerator, his mantel, his bookshelf. When family would visit, out would come his old-school Nikon camera and rolls of film. He was teased for being a shutterbug, for always trying to snap one last group shot on the front steps just as everybody was frantically trying to get to the airport. It was his way of keeping them there, all in the same frame, for a few more minutes.

He was a Peoria lifer. He loved his hometown. Except for a few years in Oregon as a child and a stint in the military, he lived in Peoria his entire life. He was an ardent fan of Bradley basketball and the St. Louis Cardinals. An independent thinker, he loved politics but deplored politicians and could — and would — discuss both at length. He devoured the news. He was known to call his children in Minneapolis or Seattle or Atlanta or New York to discuss something he had heard was happening there, often knowing more details than they did.

As a young man, he loved to sing and paint. He was a talented artist, good with his hands, a natural teacher. He was a lifelong member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, attended Broadview Academy and sang in a quartet as an active member. He served in the United States Army from 1952-54, followed by an enrollment at Andrews University and then graduating with a B.S. from Bradley. He briefly ran a house-painting business before joining Morton Metalcraft in 1976.

John loved to tell his stories, and you might hear the same ones a few times over the years. But it wasn’t just idle repetition or lack of material. It was his way of preserving his favorite memories, of making sure they would be carried from one generation to the next, that he would be a remembered by the people he loved most. He would finish a story by grabbing a fidgeting grandchild in a bear hug and saying, “You may not appreciate this very much right now, but Pop wants you to know that he loves you more than you’ll ever know.”

Visitation will be from 5-7 p.m. Thursday, June 9, at Davison-Fulton Woodland Chapel. Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Friday, June 10, at the chapel. Pastor Peter Braman will officiate. Burial will be in Parkview Cemetery.

Memorials may be made to the March of Dimes.

To view John’s memorial page or to leave an online condolence please go to www.davison-fulton.com.