Jonathon L. “Johnny” Hinkle, age 63, of Valparaiso, IN, passed away on Thursday, December 23, 2021.

Jonathon is survived by his wife of 38 years, Sandra Hinkle; children: Jake Hinkle and Kaleigh Hinkle; brothers: Harold “Booboo” (Sheri) HInkle and Raleigh Hinkle Jr.,; and sisters: Lauri (Mitchell) Gilmer, Ragen Alcocor and Theresa “Teddi” Jacobs.

Jonathon was preceded in death by his parents: Raleigh and Peggy Hinkle; and sister, Diane Pridmore.

“John had the most amazing sense of humor. Not one day went by that he did not make someone laugh, including strangers. His wife, Sandi, said they were all just bad jokes. But days would go by and she would say, “Hey, I get it. That was funny”! His smile was contagious and I never got tired of hearing people tell me how beautiful his blue eyes were.

The phone calls all day long will be missed by Jeffro, Uncle Harold, Ricochet and Dan-O, or any of his other trucking buddies. Those conversations always included, “Hey, what mile marker are you at?”, classic cars, truck problems and “Where do you guys want to eat breakfast ‘cause my old lady won’t cook” will always be my favorites. He was also a member of the “The Men Hating Women” Breakfast Club where he served as the President and Jeff Dallas served as the Vice-President at Baja’s Restaurant. Every Sunday morning the group met and John would have his favorite breakfast, Pork Chops. The crew was anywhere from 4-12, depending on how many were available that day. John typically liked when the group was smaller, so he could pick up the check!

The love for his children was beyond measure. He would drop everything to work on their cars, move them out of state (sometimes pretty willingly – kidding!). He cherished their gifts of their art and talents, and especially of making fun of their mom’s squirrel moments. He loved all of his nieces and nephews so very much. This love extended to cousins, great nieces and nephews, and family friends. He loved to tease and antagonize them with his quirky questions: “When are you going to get married”, “Did your mom marry the mailman? No? Was it a female male?” Regardless, all of the kids loved and adored Johnny!

John was a huge smoker! If you had meat, John would smoke it!! A perfect weekend would be smoking meat, his motorcycle, times with friends and family, watching reruns – especially Joe Dirt, and Sunday dinners with his sister, Teddi. There was one other thing to make it a perfect weekend, but that’s a story for another time!!

John had a love of motorcycles, trips with friends and family and the best of the best. Even if it meant bears stealing Sandi’s chocolate off of the motorcycle, and arguing with her about retrieving the chocolate. His comment was, “I am not chasing that fudge packing bear!”. Which was probably a good idea. Thanks to Dave for replacing it just to shut Sandi up!!

John had a second love: his 1960 Ford Starliner. He worked on it every opportunity and was so proud to show off the interior that his daughter, Kaleigh, crafted to help with the restoration. His son, Jake, helped with the motor, and other odds and ends. His pride wasn’t in restoring the car, it was the work that he enjoyed with his children. He loved going to car shows, but mostly he enjoyed sitting at the Harley shows being the social butterfly that he was and never meeting a stranger.

John also had a love for music and two of his prized possessions with his Martin and his Stevie Ray Vaughan guitars. It began with Rock and Roll, Blues, and Gospel, and he played with family and friends at get-togethers, nursing homes, funerals, and charity events. You never wanted to Trivial Pursuit with him, especially if he was answering in the music category. If asked anything about the Beatles, he knew the answer.

There is so much more that could be said about John. Everyone has a story about John and we cannot wait to hear them all. I know right now, the grief is overwhelming; however, I will continue to smile, laugh, cry, and cherish these memories even more. These beautiful memories will be with me throughout my days.

We all know that John came from a huge family and had more relatives than the Walton’s. So tonight when your head hits the pillow, remember to say, Goodnight, John Boy!”

Friends may visit with the family on Tuesday, December 28, 2021 at Geisen Funeral, Cremation & Reception Centre, 606 E. 113th Ave., Crown Point, IN 46307 from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm.

Funeral Services will be at 10:00 am on Wednesday, December 29, 2021 at the Funeral Home with Johanna Gash officiating. Interment to follow at Chapel Lawn Memorial Gardens in Schererville, IN.

Visit Jonathon’s online guestbook at www.GeisenFuneralHome.com 219-663-2500.