John Gordon Stange, age 87 of Prior Lake, went home to be with the Lord on Wednesday, April 9, 2014. John passed away peacefully at home while holding his wife’s hand. Visitation is Sunday, April 13, 2014 from 2:00 – 4:00 PM at Ballard-Sunder Funeral & Cremation, Prior Lake. The Celebration of Life Service is Monday, April 14, 2014 at 11:00 AM at New Hope Baptist Church, Shakopee. Pastor Tim Douglas will preside.
John was an unexpected Christmas present for parents Ralph and Alice (Johns) Stange. He was born on December 22, 1926 nearly seven hours after his twin sister Betty arrived. John’s childhood was spent in Altoona, Pennsylvania where John developed a lifelong passion for trains. John’s father worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad so his family traveled by train frequently, and he loved every minute of it. John studied drafting and surveying in high school and worked in this industry for four years following his graduation from Altoona High School. During this time John also worked as a professional musician playing the saxophone for a big band swing ensemble.
Soon John was saved, and his life was never the same again. He packed up and moved to Tennessee to earn his Bachelor’s Degree. It was during freshman year of college that he met the love of his life, Margaret. Both John and Margaret played the saxophone and together started their college musical group. Their school had a strict rule that prohibited dating couples from traveling together to college events. So John and Margaret didn’t officially date for the sake of their musical group, but they spent lots of time “practicing” their saxophones together. Finally, the two were married November 25, 1952 at John’s hometown church. John and Margaret were blessed with two beautiful children, Kathy and Stephen.
John graduated from Bryan College in 1952 and then went on to graduate from Grace Theological Seminary in 1956. John was now ready to begin his calling as a Gospel Pastor. He was the pastor in rural, country churches in LaRue, Ohio; Morrisonville, Illinois; Wessington Springs, South Dakota; and Cheyenne, Wyoming. John was very involved with developing youth groups and playing music with the worship groups. After 60+ years in Gospel Ministry, John retired at the age of 81.
Faith and family were always the most important things in John’s life. John loved spending time with his wife and his children. The Stanges did everything as a family. John always said that if they couldn’t bring the kids along, then they weren’t going. The whole family would pack up and go along with John to Bible Conventions. They also enjoyed camping as a family, going to museums and watching from the observation deck as planes landed in St. Louis.
After retiring, John and Margaret moved to Prior Lake to be closer to family. Now John was able to spend time with the grandchildren he loved so much. John passed on his sweet tooth to all of them. He loved spoiling his grandkids by treating them to his favorite sweet, an ice-cream cone from McDonalds. John always managed to get the biggest ice-cream cones for his grandkids. John will always be remembered as a faithful and loving man who had a passion for people.
John is survived by his wife of 61 years, Margaret (Haight) Stange of Prior Lake; children, Kathy Rosecrans of Albuquerque, NM and her children Olivia, Erika, Benjamin, David, John, Margaret, Samuel, Abigail; Stephen (Diane) Stange of Prior Lake and his children Timothy, Michael, Daniel, Emily, Jonathan; 9 great-grandchildren; other loving relatives, devoted friends, and former parishioners. John is preceded in death by his parents and twin sister. Pall Bearers for John are Tim Stange, Mike Stange, Dan Stange, Jonathan Stange, Vern Daniels and Rich Tisdel.
The Stange family is served with honor, care and compassion by Ballard-Sunder Funeral & Cremation, Prior Lake, MN.
