John W. Minchew was born in Jacksonville, Florida on February 2, 1941 and entered into rest on April 6, 2018 at Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland. He married Virginia Renfro and they had two children, John Eric and Angela Renee. After their divorce, he then married Della Buell Blackburn in 1978. Stepson, Edward Blackburn (Lupe Hurtado) and step-daughter, Sheri Eckelberger Collins (William) came along in this marriage.
John was a construction worker and was a member of Boilermaker Union #104 in Seattle and then joined Boilermaker Union #242 in Spokane. He worked for Hanford doing construction and boiler work.
John enjoyed playing with his grand and great-grandchildren and his beloved Sandy Fawn. He loved to talk and tell stories to children in the family and enjoyed playing Santa Claus several times at the Mormon Church in Prosser and at Miss Mary’s Preschool in Sunnyside.
John is survived by his wife, Della, sisters, Linda (Don) Denny, Dee (Ivan) Reaves; brothers, Richard (Bycie) Minchew, Kenneth (Pam) Minchew and David Minchew; his children, John Eric, Angela Renee, Edward (Lupe) and Sheri (William). He is also survived by twelve grandchildren, Brian Blackburn (Heather), Michael Blackburn (Claudia), Sara Laviolette Duran (Tony), Heather Saechao (Tumh), Alecia Brown (Caleb), Travis Eckelberger and Dean Eckelberger; and twenty-five great-grandchildren, Skyler, Austin, Maddie, Alex, Conner, Houston, Gage, Andrew, Jr., Noah, Nevaeh, Mia, Cameron, Cyrus, Abby, Oliver, Linkin, Quinas, Lilyana, Addie, David, Marixa, Adrian, Syleen and William; and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by brothers, Frankie and Preston and parents, Walter and Lessie.
Visitation is scheduled for Friday, April 13 from 3:00 to 7:00 PM at Prosser Funeral Home.
A Funeral Service will be held at 1:00 PM on Saturday, April 14, 2018 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Prosser Ward. Concluding Services and Burial will follow at the Prosser Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to the donor’s favorite charity.
You may leave a message for the family at www.prosserfuneralhome.com.
