Obituary of John Robert Syrovatka

John Robert Syrovatka, Age 64, born July 15, 1951, died Sept. 30, 2015. He passed away at HCMC from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident on July 26. Memorial services will be held Sat. Oct 10 at 11 AM at John's church home, North United Methodist church, 4350 Fremont Ave. N, Minneapolis, MN. Visitation with friends and family will be one hour prior to the service. John was born in Mitchell, SD. His youth was spent in Tea and Sioux Falls, moving to Hutchinson in the late sixties. He graduated from Hutchinson High School in 1969 and later moved to the metro area. He was a typical protester and free spirit in his day and often broke the rules that he felt were overly restrictive. He loved his Camden neighborhood where he was a homeowner for many years. John married Alice Layne, who preceded him in death. John's life experiences helped him mentor young people and he enjoyed many visits with his friends and co-workers at the North and Southdale YMCAs. He was the custodial supervisor at North YMCA and retired from Southdale YMCA in 2014 after more than 20 years of maintenance work with the YMCA organization. In 1999 John held the state record in the Bench Press for his weight class, lifting 300 pounds. John, who tipped the scales at 145 pounds, broke several state records in the Masters Division. John was a Harley enthusiast, enjoyed traveling and animal rescue work. Two of his travel highlights were a trip to the Holy Land and a mission trip to a Native American reservation in SD. John always found time and money for the care of animals. He leaves behind his pit bull Lucky, terrier Max and street cat Kitty. John was a collector of Native American art and eagles. He also had a large collection of T-shirts which were his standard wardrobe. His favorite younger sister Janet said. "He had so many because he would give you the shirt off his back and he didn't want to run out." John was a loyal Hutch Tigers, Twins and Viking fan. He also enjoyed rock concerts by his favorite musicians. His first love was reserved for God and his church home, North United Methodist, with Pastor Linda Koelman. He often teased his sister Marie that he went to church every day, meaning that he had to see to the maintenance of the building and needed to check on the furnace or other needs daily. He was honored to usher and proud to serve as a trustee and accepted with pleasure other requests for help. He was preceded in death by his wife Alice, parents John E. and Ada Syrovatka, step mother Irene Syrovatka, grandparents Myrtle Kingery, John F and Anna Syrovatka, brothers Lawrence, Robert and Arnold Dean, brother in law Merlyn Kracke and sister in law Delores Syrovatka. John is survived by his siblings Ray Syrovatka, Lorraine Kracke, Marie (Roger) Klinghagen, Jerry (Helen) Syrovatka, Janet (John) Peterson, and James (Suzie) Syrovatka, as well as many nieces, nephews and extended family. John is remembered as "a good guy."