John J. Witt

John Joseph Witt, the son of Carl and Marian Zimmer Witt, was born on January 23, 1935 on the family farm near Tipton, Kansas. After a battle with cancer, he died on August 1, 2009 surrounded by family at the Mitchell County Hospital Health Systems at the age of 74.
Relatives and close friends referred to him as Jack or Big John. On August 4, 1964, he was united in marriage to Rosemary Sporleder at the St. John's Catholic Church in Beloit. The union was blessed with three children, John Paul, Joseph Charles, and Mary Katherine.
John was a faithful, caring husband. He was firm with his children, trying to understand their difficulties. He was extremely proud of and loved his grandchildren. John was reserved until he felt that his opinion needed to be expressed.
He was a lifetime farmer of Mitchell County and loved farming. Up until his final days he was planting next year's crops and planning for the future. He thrived on going to auctions and especially enjoyed coffee time with his friends. He was honest, upfront, and his friends could always count on him to assist them in time of need. One of his hobbies was to rebuild retired farm implements and tractors. He was very resourceful with information about retired farm equipment. He either had parts to fix them or knew where they could be found.
Before his illness, he loved attending the local high school basketball games. He was a member of the St. Boniface Catholic Church in Tipton.
He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Robert. John is survived by his wife, Rosemary of 44 years; his sons, John of Proctorville, Ohio, Joseph and his wife Christine of Beloit; and his daughter, Mary and her husband Brandon Prochaska of Glasco; his grandchildren, Megan and Ashley Witt of Proctorville, Elizabeth and Victoria Witt of Beloit, and Braydon, Madison, Hunter, and Kaylin Prochaska of Glasco. To mourn his passing is his mother-in-law, Frances Sporleder of Beloit; many relatives; and a host of friends.

Funeral services will be at 10:30 AM Wednesday, August 5 at the McDonald Funeral Home followed by burial in Pleasant View Cemetery. Visitation will be from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM Tuesday at the funeral home, where the family will greet friends from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM. Memorials may be given to the American Cancer Society.