Jack L Flinner

Northview - North Mankato Mortuary
2060 Commerce Drive
North Mankato, MN 56001
507-388-2288

Jack LeRoy Flinner (80) died from complications of multiple sclerosis on Sunday, April 1, 2012 at Mayo Clinic Health System Hospital in Mankato MN.

Visitations will be held Friday, April 6, 2012 from 3-6 pm at Northview-North Mankato Mortuary, 2060 Commerce Drive, North Mankato AND on Saturday, April 7 at 10 am at First Lutheran Church, St. Peter followed by a Memorial Service at 11 am. In lieu of flowers, please consider a Memorial Donation to Habitat for Humanity or Echo Food Shelf.

Jack was born in Canton, OH on June 6, 1931, first child of the late Edna Kathern (Kettering) & Kenneth LeRoy Flinner. Jack had three siblings: the late Robert Laird "Bob" Flinner, Darlie Jean (Flinner) Moore of Canton OH and Larry Ronald Flinner of Cincinnati OH.

In 1955 Jack married Maralyn Alice (Spenny) Flinner in Lewisburg OH. They had three children: Mark Stewart Flinner (Wendy) of St. Paul MN, Anita Kathryn Flinner-McCaffrey (Thomas) of Burnsville MN and Andr" LeRoy Flinner (Michelle) of St. Paul. Jack enjoyed seven grandchildren: Alicia, Alexander, Aaron, Nicholas, Brandon, Janelle & Chloe, as well as 5 step grandchildren and 2 step great-grandchildren. Maralyn and Jack also had a special relationship with their "adopted" son, the late Yaya Kabba Kamara from Sierra Leone, West Africa who lived with them while attending Mankato State University (MSU). Other surviving relatives are his uncle Samuel Laird "Buss" Flinner (Thelma) of Prospect, PA and many nieces, nephews and cousins.

Jack graduated from Canton Lincoln High School and from Wittenberg College (BS in Physics & Chemistry) where he was a member of numerous clubs and honor societies. He earned advanced degrees in physics at the University of Illinois (MS) and The Ohio State University (PhD). He also studied at Chicago Lutheran Theological Seminary, Maywood IL and Hamma School of Divinity at Wittenberg. He began his professional career teaching physics at Wittenberg and later was Professor of Physics and chair of the Physics Department at MSU. There he was instrumental in starting the Electrical Engineering Technology and Electrical Engineering degree programs and in building the Van de Graf accelerator on campus. He was an active member of the American Society of Engineering Education and the American Association of Physics Teachers.

Jack was a lifelong member of the Lutheran Church--in Minnesota at First Lutheran in St. Peter and Grace Lutheran in Mankato. He held numerous offices on church councils and committees and was a generous financial supporter.

He was a financial supporter and advocate for many organizations dedicated to the environment, arts, education, health, religion, civic & social concerns and, most recently, Democratic politics. He was active in German Club, Echo Food Shelf, Meals on Wheels and Genesis discussion group.

Jack always loved music! He had a good tenor voice and loved choral singing in high school, college and numerous church choirs. He played percussion in high school and college bands and even had a brief stint playing timpani with the Springfield (OH) Symphony Orchestra.

Jack thoroughly enjoyed travel to distant places, including an epic trip to Alaska in 1951 with college buddies to work on the railroad. On an educational mission to Taiwan & Japan he also climbed Fuji-San! His family fondly recalls camping trips around the US and canoeing in the Boundary Waters. Both Maralyn and Jack loved their trips to England, Sierra Leone, New Zealand, Barbados, Turkey, Greece, Israel, Thailand, Japan, Russia and Germany.

Jack prided himself in being able to say "hello', "please' and "thank you' in numerous languages, and he was a frequent jokester even to his last days. Jack touched many lives and will be missed by all!