John W. Engstrom, 90, of Hastings passed away peace-fully at home, surrounded by his family, on Oct. 5, 2022.n He was born Dec. 15, 1931 to Harry and Gladys (Holmes) Engstrom in Hast-ings, Minnesota.
“Ink” played on the unde-feated, Hastings High School football team of 1948 and graduated with the class of 1950. After graduation he at-tended a semester at Mankato State where he played foot-ball. John then enlisted with the United States Army and honorably served his country as a Ranger, Paratrooper, and was in the National Guard.
In 1953 John followed the girl of his dreams to Califor-nia. On January 16, 1954, John married Mary Jean Rohr in San Jose. They later moved back to Hastings and together raised five children.
John was a third genera-tion excavating contractor.
He co-owned Husting & Engstrom Inc. and retired in 1997. “Ink” carried on his passion of collecting, restor-ing, and displaying historic construction equipment to his sons and grandsons. He recently bought back the first dozer he and Mary Jean pur-chased in 1960.
After retirement, John and Mary Jean continued to travel. They spent winters in Arizona with friends and family. John bought and sold golf cars, was a garage sale enthusiast, and spent many hours tinkering in the garage.
He wrote in a daily jour-nal since the 1960’s. John loved dogs and always had a treat to share. “Ink” had a love for mischief, would BS with anyone he met, and had a quick wit which was the cornerstone of many friend-ships.
John was a dedicated and passionate believer in ca-maraderie and the power of a team. He had a talent to always focus on the bright side of life. Football was a positive throughout his life, and he was loyal to the teams and people he met along his journey. He lived every day with a respectful attitude to accept others as they were.
He strived and achieved to make his family and friends lives better. “Ink” created op-portunities for many people and his insurmountable pos-itive energy will be greatly missed.
He is survived by his wife of 68 years, Mary Jean; chil-dren Steve (Tammy) Eng-strom, Mike (Valerie) Eng-strom, and Kristin (Mark) Flora; grandchildren Jeff Engstrom, Taylor Engstrom, Jonathon Engstrom, Laura Engstrom, Lindsay (Josh) John, Dillon Flora, Jack-ie (Jonathan) Loose, Kevin (Ashley) Engstrom, Anna Engstrom; great-grandchil-dren Allisyn, Liam, Maya, Jacob, Aleiah, Lydia, Stella; sister-in-law, Darlene Eng-strom and other relatives and cherished friends.
John was preceded in death by his parents; son, Kurt Engstrom; daughter, Mary Sue Engstrom; 2 broth-ers, Harry (Phyllis) Eng-strom, and Robert “Butch” Engstrom.
direct donations to Hastings Family Service or donor’s choice.
Visitation was held Tues-day, Oct. 11 at Starkson Family Life Celebration Chapel. Memorial service will be 11 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 12 at Starkson Fami-ly Life Celebration Chap-el, with visitation one hour prior. Interment was held in the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Cemetery.
