John C. Lindholm

John C. Lindholm of Manhattan, Kansas died January 10, 2020. John was born in Wichita, Kansas on November 3, 1923, to Nora Anne (Borror) and Ernest Cyril Lindholm. He attended Cheney High School, graduating in 1941, before attending Kansas State University, where he graduated in 1949 with dual degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Business Administration. On June 8, 1947, he married the love of his life, Mildred Ruth Socolofsky at the First United Methodist Church in Manhattan, Kansas. Together they had four children; Martha (Michael) Milleson, Susan (John) Harrington, both of Leavenworth, Kansas, John (Debra) Lindholm, Houston, Texas and Barbara (Randall) Angell, Bothell, Washington. John belonged to the First United Methodist Church where he was a member of the United Methodist Men, Peacemakers Sunday School Class, Old Geezers, and other committees and served as Chairman of the Finance Committee and Chairman of the Board of Trustees. In 1942 he enlisted in the Army Air Corps becoming a B-17 pilot. He and his crew flew 17 bombing missions with the 457th Bomb Group out of Glatton, England from February to April 1945, then several observational flights and two flights to repatriate French POWs from Austria. He received medals during his service including the European Theater of Operation, Bronze Medal with Two Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Distinguished Flying Cross. He was released from active duty in October 1945 but remained in the Air Force active reserves until May of 1972. After graduation, he worked for General Electric and Midwest Research Institute before starting graduate studies. He taught while completing his MSME at Kansas University, and then while earning his Ph.D. at Purdue University. He joined the KSU faculty as a Professor of Mechanical Engineering and later Head of the Engineering Technology Department. He was active in the Society of Experimental Mechanics, American Society Engineering Education, American Society of Mechanical Engineering serving 2 terms as Regional Vice President and was faculty advisor to the KSU chapter of the Society of Women Engineers. He, along with his family, spent 2 years with a team of engineering professors to help establish an Engineering program at the University of Assiut, Assiut, Egypt. He had Fulbright Fellowships to The University of the South Pacific, Fiji Islands and University of Assiut, Egypt. Giving back to the community was important to John. In addition to his church activities, John was a member of the American Legion and volunteered with the Kansas Boys State Program for 20 years sharing his WWII experiences and memorabilia. He volunteered for many other programs over the years among them the AARP Income Tax Prep Program, the Home Care & Hospice Vet to Vet Program and the Kansas 2A State Basketball Tournament. He was recently honored by RSVP as one of their oldest volunteers. He was preceded in death by his wife. In addition to the four children, he is survived by brothers, Leonard Lindholm of Mulvane, Kansas; Charley (June) Lindholm of Ada, Oklahoma; Norman Lindholm of Willard, Ohio; sisters, Elenore Claribel “Lindy” Hurd of Alamogordo, New Mexico; Beverly Anne (Virgil) Severns of Fairbanks, Alaska; many nephews and nieces; 4 grandchildren, Adam (Thao) Harrington of Glastonbury, Connecticut; John Michael (Erin) Ludwig of Wichita, Kansas; Valerye Milleson of Fairfax, Virginia; Caryn (David) Smith of Shawnee, Kansas and 7 great-grandchildren. Memorial services will be held at 2 pm Thursday, January 16, 2020, at the United Methodist Church. The family will greet friends prior to the service beginning at 1 pm. A reception will follow. Interment will be in the Kansas Veterans Cemetery, Manhattan, KS on Friday, January 17th at 11 am. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to either the John and Mildred Lindholm Scholarship Fund at KSU or to the First United Methodist Church.