Earl W. Kinneman

Earl Willard Kinneman, age 92, died September 19, 2025, at the Ellsworth Care Center. He was born October 6, 1932, to Walter and Ellen (Dahl) Kinneman. He attended country school through 8th grade. Farming was an important part of his life, first at home and then for neighbors and others. Earl served nine years in active duty for the US Air Force, from 1951-1955 and 1965-1970 and then joined the Air Force Reserves until retirement. Between 1955-65, he farmed with his brother, Wayne in partnership. He worked in civil service at the 934th Reserves as an instrument technician and later as quality control for government contracts. After retirement, he again helped relatives with farming and took great pride in his accurate rows during planting and harvesting.

Earl married Donna Falkofske in 1965. They celebrated 60 years of sharing and enjoying life together. Before leaving for Thailand during the Vietnam War, Earl adopted Donna’s son, Tony. Earl was a dedicated and wonderful father to Tony and always enjoyed attending football games while Tony was in high school and college.

Along with farming, Earl loved deer hunting, fishing, bowling and playing euchre and always made sure there was a week in the spring saved for a trip up north to go fishing. When Tony was young, Earl made sure he had a little barn to raise critters; the chickens, pigs and sheep were lessons in responsibility. Also, he helped Tony make rabbit hutches and soon they had a growing population of bunnies. A dog for company was important, even bringing a puppy home from Alaska.

As a member of St. John’s UCC, Prescott, he served on the council, was Santa Claus for Sunday School and helped with maintenance. At St. Paul’s UCC in Ellsworth, he served on the Cemetery Committee and even acted in a skit with Donna about marriage compatibility for a Sunday service.

Earl liked neatness and organized areas especially for his tools and in the household, for example, the sheets needed corner folding--military style. He was also known as the “squirrel” for his ability to hide items. Several items he hid were hunting knives and small tools that were usually won from raffles or fundraisers to support hunting. His hobbies were collecting coins, cards for euchre, miniature toy tractors and family history. He always looked forward to playing euchre with friends and relatives, especially Tom and Sue. He loved driving country roads to check the crops and going to auctions but he was always willing to go to fabric shops to help pick out materials for quilts with Donna. After retirement, he and Donna took many driving trips across the USA, the lower 48 and both east and west across Canada and he was always willing to turn back if a road-side shop looked inviting. A unique and friendly person, he enjoyed visiting with others and became a walking newspaper, sharing what he heard. The last few years were more difficult with vision loss, hearing loss and memory weakening.

Thank you to the staff at Ellsworth Care Center for their excellent care, making days brighter. We were blessed to have loved and enjoyed life with this wonderful husband, father and grandfather.

Earl was preceded in death by his parents and brothers, Wayne (Sandy) and Kenneth Kinneman.

Survivors include wife, Donna; son Tony (significant other, Carla); grandchildren, Jillian, Jacob (close friend, Abbie), Joshua, Joelly and Jennalee; brothers, Gerald and Dale (Linda) Kinneman; sisters-in-law, Phyllis and Mary Kinneman and many nieces and nephews.

Memorial service will be held on Saturday, October 18, 2025, at 12 p.m. at Mahn Family Funeral Home, Ellsworth Chapel. Visitation will be for one hour prior to the service. Please be ready to share a special memory of Earl at the memorial gathering. As Earl wore plaid, flannel shirts for the last 20 years, you are welcome to dress casual and wear a flannel shirt if you have one. Burial will take place at a later date at Diamond Bluff Cemetery. Arrangements handled by Mahn Family Funeral Home, Ellsworth Chapel.