John W. Campbell

Campbell, John W., age 86 of Burnsville, former Minnesota Gopher and Viking, passed away peacefully surrounded by his family on October 21, 2024. Preceded in death by his siblings: Colleen Margeson and M. Cathryn Krause; sisters-in-law: Pat and Linda Campbell. Survived by his wife 59 years, Susan; children: Andrew (Jamie) Campbell, Matthew Campbell, Meghan (Bob) Dunn, and Molly Campbell: Grandchildren: Emma, Grace and Thomas; siblings: Don Campbell and David Campbell. Also by other loving relatives and friends. Funeral service Tuesday, October 29,2024, 11am at LifeChurch (2201 W 108th St, Bloomington, MN 55431). Visitation from 5-8pm Monday, October 28 at White Funeral Home (12804 Nicollet Ave) Burnsville and one hour prior to the service at church on Tuesday. Interment: Ft Snelling national Cemetery
John was born and raised in the small town of Wadena, Minnesota. As John's dad was a town Dentist, the Campbells were very fortunate to avoid the worst effects of the Great Depression.
Being the 3rd of 5 kids, John immersed himself in friends, sports, and spending time with family. As an athlete, he admittedly wasn't particularly talented and always said "My brothers, Don and Dave were WAY better athletes than me."
During high school, John played football with little acclaim, other than his insistence that " I managed to avoid serious injury." Being 6 ft. 3 inches tall and 150 lbs, his physique was probably more suited to Basketball, (or possibly the chess team).
After graduating high school in 1956, he enlisted in the Navy and was soon stationed at the large base in Norfolk, Virginia. There he began his assignment as a Dental Assistant, possibly in an effort to follow in his dad's footsteps, but also as an efficient way to charm Navy nurses while he cleaned their teeth.
He admittedly was largely unsuccessful in this effort.
When later asked what he did to protect our nation's freedom during his time in the Navy, he would chuckle and proudly state "I fought tooth decay."
The other thing John focused on during his time in the Navy was spending a lot of time in the base weight room, which produced some interesting results in that he gained 75 lbs. of muscle. He soon found himself playing on the base football team at a very high level, competing against many Division 1 College players. He eventually was scouted by several college football powerhouses and received football scholarship offers from schools like Georgia Tech, Michigan, and several others.
Upon his honorable discharge from the Navy, John made the bold move to walk on at the University of Minnesota in the fall of 1959 "where absolutely no one knew who he was." He started out on the 5th string offensive tight end and defensive end positions. As this was unacceptable to John, he started several fights with starting players which intrigued head coach Murray Warmath who wisely decided to try John out in a game to see if he could channel some of that energy to do some good against another team.
In short order, John became a two-way starter and within the next year, the Gophers won the 1960 National Championship. Over the next two seasons, the Gophers were at the top of college football rankings and played in two Rose Bowls where John distinguished himself. After his senior year, John was voted to the Big 10 all- conference team and was named an honorable mention All-American.
Upon graduation, John entered the NFL draft where the newly franchised Vikings signed him. He was notably the first Minnesota Gopher ever drafted and signed by the Vikings.
After two years with the Vikings playing on special teams and eventually getting snaps as a strong side Linebacker, John was traded to the Baltimore Colts who needed a linebacker of his caliber.
Shortly after that, the Pittsburgh Steelers called and another trade was made to bring him over. He played for the Steelers from 1965-69 and was named to the Sporting News All-Pro team in 1966. He was also voted the Steelers player rep and became friends with team owner Art Rooney Sr. John was also instrumental on the redesign of the Steelers uniform which is still in use today.
During the 1969 season, the new coach, Chuck Knoll decided a youth movement was in order and John was cut, only to be shortly picked up again by the Colts. There he finished his final season in 1970 when his football career came to an end with a shattered elbow in an early season game. Notably, the Colts went on to win the Super Bowl that year. John watched the game from the comfort of his family room.
The other big and definitely most important event of John's life was when he met Sue Wilson at a party and married her in 1965. Sue was instrumental in leading John to Christ which set the tone for the next 59 years of John's life.
In 1969, John and Sue adopted twins Matt and Andy. Four years later, they adopted yet another set of twins, Meghan and Molly. They raised their family in Burnsville Minnesota and still live in the same house they bought in 1969.
After football, John had several jobs, most notably as a sports reporter for WCCO TV, then a stock broker, and later founded John Campbell and Associates, a media packaging company.
John also became a polished Christian public speaker who for decades traveled the world spreading the gospel of his savior, Jesus Christ, while giving his testimony representing the "Man in the Mirror" organization. He also served on the Board of Directors for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Closer to home, he became an associate pastor at Life Church in Bloomington Minnesota and served there for many years.
His final job was when he became a volunteer Police Chaplain for the Burnsville and Bloomington Police departments. He eventually created the manual which became the guidebook for the police chaplaincy at both departments and subsequently developed the police chaplain team into a more professional and effective organization.
John also was a very involved grandparent who got a lot of joy watching his family grow and thrive. In his later years, he was very content with gardening, spending time with Sue, and watching his beloved Steelers and Gophers while sitting in his favorite chair next to the fireplace in his family room.
He also put on the best family brunch you'll ever have.