John DeWitt Kingston 1902-1998

KINGSTON, SLABA, HOWELL, PETERSEN, BJORKMAN, MADDEN

Posted By: Merllene Andre Bendixen (email)
Date: 3/18/2015 at 22:40:08

John D. Kingston
Armstrong – A memorial service for John D. [DeWitt] Kingston, 96, of Armstrong will be held on Sunday, July 19, at 10:30 a.m. at the First Presbyterian Church in Armstrong. Interment will be at Armstrong Grove Cemetery, Armstrong. He died June 10, 1998, at Valley Vue Care Center in Armstrong.

He was born on April 25, 1902, the son of Herbert A. and Amy Elizabeth Howell, and was a lifelong resident of Armstrong. He graduated from Armstrong High School in 1920 and attended he University of Minnesota, before joining his father in Kingston’s Mercantile Store.

On July 22, 1930, he was united in marriage to Jennie Mae Slaba of Buffalo Center. He remained at the store until 1940. In subsequent years, he was employed by the Agricultural Adjustment Association; he was an accountant for the Dr. Pepper Company in Fairmont, Minn.; and he was employed by Abel and Clark Sales in Armstrong. In 1949, he opened Kingston’s Kleaners. He also was employed as city clerk for Armstrong. He drove school bus for the Armstrong School District for 15 years. For many years, he also assisted his brother-in-law in the funeral business at Slaba Funeral Home.

He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Armstrong and the Kiwanis.

He is survived by three daughters, Karen K. Petersen of Orange, Calif.; Mrs. Leonard (Judith) Bjorkman of Syracuse, N.Y. and Cherie Madden of Armstrong, nine grandchildren, and 11 great grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his wife in 1957, his parents, two sisters and one granddaughter.

Memorial contributions may be made to the First Presbyterian Church of Armstrong or the Armstrong Public Library. (Estherville Daily News, Estherville, IA, July 15, 1998)