John Dappert

John Dappert, 78, of Robinson, IL, passed away in the comfort of his home on March 1, 2022. The son of Glen & Frances (Hoerr) Dappert, he was born in a farmhouse near Shumway, IL on July 19, 1943. Six months later, his family moved to a rented farm near Bone Gap, IL, where they stayed for seven years before buying a farm close to the small town of Hidalgo, IL. From an early age, he carried with him a passion for music that led him to pick up the guitar and write his own songs. In fact, he eventually took some of his catalog to Lamar, IN, where he was given the opportunity to cut a record using songs of John's own composition!

He would go on to enroll at Eastern Illinois University, working his way through school by driving a milk can route on weekends and summers. This job found him slinging 120-pound cans of milk and unloading them at the Prairie Farms Creamery in Olney. Soon after graduating with a BS in Education in 1965, his first full-time teaching position was as an 8th-grade science teacher in Mt. Zion, IL, where he worked while living in Decatur. Over the first five summers of his teaching career, John also worked at Anaconda American Brass in Mattoon, IL.

On November 25, 1966, he married a fellow educator, Sara Sue Smith, after a four-year courtship. In 1968, the couple moved to Sue's farm, and both gained teaching positions in the Robinson Community Unit School District #2. Twelve years later, in 1980, John left teaching to farm full-time until 2003, when he semi-retired, and the Dapperts moved to Robinson. Never one to let dust settle, he continued to serve his community as the treasurer for both the North Fork Conservancy District as well as the local airport and was the chairman of the board for the Crawford County Airport Authority.

It was evident that everything this old farmer did, he did well. Excellence was his creed, and we who are left behind are the beneficiaries of a life truly well-lived.

Left behind to mourn his passing include his daughter, Deana Dappert; sister, Glenna Sowers; as well as several nieces and nephews. He was recently preceded in death by his wife of 57 years, Sue Dappert; sisters, Kay Starwalt and Nita Wellbaum; parents, Glen & Frances Dappert; step-mother, Ruby Rich; step-sisters, Patricia Hardy and Elizabeth Atkinson; and in-laws, Freddie & Mary Smith.

A time of visitation will be held from 9:00-11:00 a.m. on Friday, March 4th, at the Goodwine Funeral Home in Robinson. Funeral services will immediately follow and be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, with Celebrant Curt Goodwine officiating. Burial will be in the Oblong Cemetery. Memorials may be made to the "Crawford County IL  Airport", with envelopes available at the funeral home.