John Wayne Holst

1956 - 2025

John Wayne Holst, 68, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, January 28, 2025 with his family by his side. A celebration of John's life will be held on a later date. John was born on March 5, 1956 to William and Helen (Hilton) Holst. He graduated from Washington High School in Vinton in 1974. He obtained a degree in Animal Science from Hawkeye Tech in 1976 in Waterloo, Iowa, where his passion for agriculture led him to compete in the college Livestock Judging team where he traveled the nation. On September 25, 1976, John was united in marriage to Kristin Doud in Vinton. John built numerous relationships over the years working as a feed salesman, a Realtor with Johnson Realty, and most recently as the VP and commercial lending officer at US Bank. Outside of work, John was very dedicated to the positions he held in various committees and councils for the county extension, school district's FFA program, and 4H. He found great joy in teaching his daughters and traveling with his family showing sheep and rabbits in 4H and livestock shows, often referring to himself as "Sheepman." In 2019, John was inducted in the Iowa 4H Hall of Fame for outstanding service and dedication to 4H in Benton County. John is survived by his wife of 48 years, Kristin Holst of Vinton, daughter Kaitlin (RJ) Hammel of Hiawatha, and Molly (Denny) Gardemann of Shellsburg; grandchildren, Halle and Camden Hammel, and Avery and Charlie Gardemann; sister Suzanne Holst, sister-in-law Doris Holst, brother-in-law Kevin Doud, and sister-in-law Kerry (Mike) Less, and several nieces and nephews. John was preceded in death by his parents, brother Warren Holst, father-in-law Jimmy Doud, and mother-in-law Shirley Doud. John will be missed most notably for his witty sense of humor and jokes, always managing to bring laughter to serious situations. No matter where he went, John never met a stranger and somehow had a mutual connection to everyone he encountered. He was a man of great dignity and leadership that he firmly instilled into his daughters. John made the best "girl dad," lovingly teasing his sons-in-law, "if you have girls, you have glitter!" In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the family for distribution to Benton County 4H and V/S FFA scholarships to students pursuing a career in Agriculture.