John A. Eccles Jr.

1948 - 2022

Edgerton, WI - John A. Eccles Jr., age 73, of Edgerton, passed away on Friday, January 7, 2022, at home.

Johnny the UPS man has finally made his last stop...



After a long and illustrious career as The Handsome Buck in the big brown truck (43 1/2 years), The King of the one-liners has finally succumbed after a long battle with cancer.



He was born to John Sr. and Vivian (Johnson) Eccles, in Eau Claire, WI, the oldest of eleven siblings.



A devastating house fire in 1962 caused the family to be separated into different foster homes. It took 25 years to find most of his siblings, two are still missing.



In 1964 he re-found his parents and ran away from the latest foster home, walking from Dubuque, IA, to Reedsburg, WI, to rejoin them and finishing his last year of school at Webb High.



He joined the U.S. Army at age 17 and was trained as a Heavy Equipment Operator at Ft. Leonard Wood, MO. After training he was assigned to the 554th Eng. BN at Fort Knox, KY. He was proud to be a member of that unit even though they suffered heavy casualties in Vietnam.



Having a younger brother who was also scheduled for Vietnam, he extended his Tour of Duty there to keep him out of country even though he wound up going there anyways.



John is survived by his beloved wife, Kay (Venable) Eccles; 9 children: John (Stephanie) Eccles III, Jamie Lynn Eccles, Tony (Peggy) Dahler, Michael John Tanner, Jessica (Chuck) Seblom, Eric (Amy) Eccles, Robin Eccles, Howard Jakubowski and Corrine Albert; grandchildren: Alexandria (Ben) Harrison, Kieondre Tanner, John (Leah) Eccles IV, DaCota Eccles, Hunter Seblom, Dalton Eccles, Emma Seblom and Madison Eccles; great grandchildren: Reese, Abigail, Sydney and baby boy due in March; his siblings: Darlene Zimmerli of Robbins, NC, Robert, Lorraine, Jeanne, Cindy and Julie and still missing are Connie and Steven; and other extended family: mothers-in-law, Mary Ann Venable and Pat Venable; brother and sisters-in-law, Pat Venable, Joe (Ruth) Venable, Mike (Jennifer) Venable, Patti (John) Gourley, and Tim Venable. He was predeceased by his mom and dad; brothers; Dan and Chuck; lifelong best friend, Sam Richards; his grandparents, George and Cora Johnson and Ed Eccles; father-in-law, Bud Venable; and brother-in-law, Dennis Venable.



A Funeral Service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, January 15, 2022, at APFEL EHLERT FUNERAL HOME, 315 Lord St. (Hwy 51) Edgerton with Rev. Jim Johnson officiating. Burial will follow in Fassett Cemetery with Full Military Honors. Visitation will be held on Friday from 3:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. and again on Saturday from 10:00 a.m. until the time of service at the APFEL EHLERT FUNERAL HOME. Memorials may be made in John's name to Mercy Hospice. For on-line condolences: www.apfelfuneral.com

"Johnny would like to thank all his UPS family and customers. He loved each and every one of you and hopes he left you all with a "one-liner" that you will remember him by."



"The family would like to extend a special thanks to Dr. Robinson, Karleen and Dayna and all the special nurses and volunteers in the chemo room."