In loving memory of John Paul Blocher - Obituary Baldwin Brothers

Obituary

A kind, intelligent, witty, and loving man, John Paul Blocher passed away at his home in Lady Lake, Florida on the morning of December 14, 2021, with his wife Mary Carroll Blocher by his side. He was born September 4, 1934 in Darke County, Ohio, to his parents, Kenneth and Ruth (Blough) Blocher, having been born in the house his great-grandfather built. John was one of four siblings. He is preceded in death by his parents and his older sister Marjorie, and his sister-in-law, Elaine (Royer) Blocher. He is survived by his brother, Lynn Blocher – widower to Elaine, father to Kent, Brenda, and Neal Blocher and their respective families and loved ones; his sister, Rebecca (Blocher) Anderson – wife of Roger Anderson, mother of John and Nancy Anderson and their respective families; his brother-in-law, Philip Kinsey – widower to Marjorie, father to Bob, Caryl and Jim Kinsey and their respective families, and Phil’s wife, Janice Kinsey; his daughter, Karen Blocher – wife of James Pendery; his son, Andrew Blocher and his respective family, and his step-daughter, Becky Shell and her respective family. Also surviving him are his grandchildren, step-grandchildren, great grandchildren, cousins, nieces and nephews.

John attended Greenville High School in Greenville, Ohio, and graduated from there in 1952. After graduating, he attended Manchester College (now University) in North Manchester, Indiana, and graduated in 1956. He went on to attend the University of Wisconsin, and graduated with a Masters in Biochemistry in 1964, after completion of his masters thesis, studying moisture levels of grain sorghum. While he was working with the Army at Fort Detrick, MD, he met Francis Catherine Swank, and they married in 1963. After having their first child, Karen, they moved from Braddock Heights, MD back to the family farm in Darke County, Ohio, west of Greenville. Their son, Andrew, was born a few years later, and John and Cathy were married until 1986. Andrew has a son, Jase Blocher, and Jase and Megan Rinderle have a daughter, Adelynn Mae Blocher. John farmed the family land along with his father, Kenneth, and his son, Andrew, his entire life, only slowing down in the last 2 years of his life.

In 1989, he married Mary Carroll (Schindler) Dette, and they lived together with her daughter, Becky, in Darke County, until Becky moved to another house in the Blocher family. Becky Shell and her husband, Jake Shell, have six children – Shannon, Nicole, Michael, Jessica, Ricky Ann, and Eric. Shannon and Noah Elleman have two children, Gabriel and Myah. Nicole Shell and Chase Bowers have a daughter, Elizabeth. In 2011, John and Mary Carroll moved permanently to their house in Lady Lake, Florida to enjoy their retirement in the sun and community they found and that welcomed them there.

John was an avid photographer. He loved the experience of having grandchildren and great-grandchildren sit on his lap. He also had an affection for birds, and had a huge knowledge of trees of all kinds. John loved regaling people with the stories of his life, farming, the Blocher and Blough family histories, the history of Blocher land in Darke County, and discussing the news of the world. John had numerous friends in both Greenville, Ohio and in Lady Lake, Florida, and was involved in numerous activities and organizations his entire life. He was well-known in the church as well as the farming community that he grew up in and farmed. He was a member of Greenville Church of the Brethren until 1980, when he and his first family became members of the Oakland Church of the Brethren. He remained a member of the Oakland Church of the Brethren until his death.

A memorial service will be held April 9, 2022 at 10:30AM, at the Oakland Church of the Brethren in Bradford, Ohio. Interment will be at Greenville Union Cemetery, in Greenville, Ohio in the family plot. Arrangements entrusted with BALDWIN BROTHERS Funeral and Cremation Society-Spanish Springs, Florida.