John Richard Foulkes, 89, of Columbus, Ohio died at Westerwood’s Ridgewood Assisted Living facility on January 24, 2022. He was born on June 1, 1932 in Lima, Ohio and is the son of Clarence “Dutch” and Leota (Meredith) Foulkes.
On May 14, 1955 he married Carol Jane Winkle in Vaughnsville, Ohio and who survives in Columbus, Ohio. They lived the majority of their lives on John’s ancestral farm near Vaughnsville and treasured their time in the community.
John is also survived by his daughter-in-law Amy (Jeff) Foulkes of Hudson, OH, son Doug (Joanne) Foulkes of Celina, OH and daughter Ellen (Gregory) Bonk of Riverlea, OH and beloved grandchildren Tyler and Spencer Foulkes and Kimberly Bonk. Also surviving are a sister Martha (Larry) Timbers, a sister-in-law Shirley (Winkle) Blake and nine nieces and nephews.
Preceding John in death were his parents, mother and father-in-law Torrence and Gladys (Henry) Winkle and his eldest son, Jeffery, on Dec. 22, 2021. A sister, Janet and Marvin Pridgeon, brother-in-law Peter (Martha) Vogt, brother-in-law Byron (Shirley) Blake and two nephews also preceded him in death..
John graduated from Vaughnsville High School in 1950. He attended The Ohio State University on a full scholarship receiving a bachelor’s degree in Vocational Agricultural Education in 1954. He also received a master’s degree in School Counseling from The University of Dayton in 1974.
John was in the ROTC program at OSU and on active duty with the U.S. Army from 1955 to 1957 at Fort Cronkhite in San Francisco, California. He taught Vocational Agriculture at Amsden, Lakota and Continental High Schools and Apollo JVS. He ended his career in education as a guidance counselor at Continental High School. He also farmed full time for 10 years between his years in education.
John devoted his life to serving others. He was a Gideon member, active in many capacities at the Vaughnsville Community Church, a Columbus Grove and Apollo Joint Vocational School Boards member and a jail inmate visitor at the Lima Worth Center and the Putnam County Jail. He also served on the board of directors for the Defiance Area Youth for Christ, the Putnam County Fair and Pathways Counseling Center of Putnam County.
John enjoyed watching his grandchildren’s sports, music and other school events. He loved rooting for the Buckeyes having attended football games at all original Big Ten stadiums and several OSU bowl games including the Rose Bowl. He also loved fishing with his schoolteacher buddies and made many trips to Canada to fish for pike and walleye. He held all night “bass fishing” tournaments at the pond on his farm. John was a conservationist having committed a significant portion of his family farm into Ohio’s Wetland Reserve Program. John was an OSU Extension Service Master Gardener and a member of the Farm Bureau.
He and Carol loved to travel together or with their children and grandchildren. They visited Zambia (Africa), Paris, London, Alaska and many places in the lower 48 states.
Friends and family may call Monday January 31, from 9:30 to 11:30 AM at Vaughnsville Community Church immediately followed by a funeral service. A private interment ceremony will be held at the Hughes Cemetery. Friends and family are invited to a reception at the Vaughnsville Community Center following the service.
The family requests that in lieu of flowers donations be made to Vaughnsville Community Church, Capitol City Hospice (https://www.capitalcityhospice.com/donate/ ) or The Gideons International (https://gideons.org/donate) in memory of John.
Hartman Sons Funeral Home, Columbus Grove, Ohio, is handling arrangements.