John Leo Inkman of Wichita, Kansas, formerly of St. Louis, died November 17, 2023.  A memorial service will be held at St. Louis Abbey, 500 S. Mason Rd. on January 22 at 1 pm, Abbot Gregory Mohrman OSB officiating.

John Inkman was born November 17, 1952 in Leavenworth, Kansas, the son of Albert and Irma Inkman and younger brother of Bruce.  All his life he enjoyed joking with people that he came from Leavenworth – outside the walls.

John enjoyed a happy small town boyhood, attending Immaculate Conception Grade School from the age of 5 and Immaculata High School from the age of 13.  As a student, John took a particular interest in history.  He was an athlete, playing on his high school baseball and basketball teams and umpiring little league baseball in the summers.  He also had a summer job working for the Leavenworth streets department filling potholes. Having learned about woodworking and construction from his father, a carpenter, John acquired a life-long passion for home improvement projects.

At the age of 17, John enrolled as a student at KU, joining his brother in Lawrence. There, he continued to play baseball and basketball on his way to a BS in Education, Class of 1974.  John's first job after graduation was with GE Finance, first in Kansas City, then in St. Louis, and then Wichita.  While working in St. Louis, John met Kris Chalcraft, a fellow employee.  After a courtship of 2 years, they were married on May 31, 1980 at Sacred Heart in Florissant, MO.  John was now the Midwest regional salesman for Maine Rubber Co.  The couple moved to Wellington, KS, near Wichita, and lived there for a short time before moving to Rodenbach, Germany, where John represented Maine Rubber as salesman for Northern Europe.  John had the opportunity to travel widely in Europe during this time, including Sweden, Switzerland, France and Spain.  In 1982, they returned to the United States, moving first to Plainfield, IN and then to St. Louis.  John worked as a salesman for International Machine Co. before starting Wheatfield Inc. with his wife as a mortgage brokerage in 1984.

The couple had their only child, Matthew John, in 1986. In anticipation of starting a family, the couple had bought a plot of land in what was then unincorporated St. Louis County, and John worked with his father Al to build a new house there.  It was completed in early 1987, just after Matthew's arrival.  John continued to work on the property, subsequently adding a carriage house.  During this time he and his wife bought and renovated various properties around St. Louis for sale and rent.

John pursued his interest in home improvement further by entering the hardwood flooring business as a salesman in 1990.  He and his family moved to Ballwin in 1992 in order to live near more young families.  In 1994 he joined Champion Floor Co. as a salesman.

John's marriage to Kris ended in 2001, but he continued to live nearby to be there for his son.  When Matthew left home for university in 2005, John moved back to Leavenworth to care for his aging father, a widower.  He also returned to his degree in education, beginning to substitute teach and earning his Kansas Teaching License.  When Al moved to Arizona to live with Bruce in 2009, John moved to Atchison, where he taught middle school history and social studies.  After two years in Atchison, he moved back to Wichita, his stomping grounds as a young man, in 2011.

He then retired and in 2014 bought a home which he spent many years happily renovating.  John died in 2023, shortly before a planned move back to St. Louis to be near his son.

John was a loving father, son and brother.  He was known for his strong opinions and refusal to suffer fools gladly.  He had many interests and hobbies through the years, including baseball, basketball, tennis, golf, pipe smoking, home remodeling, antiques, and, later in life, collecting neckties and fountain pens.  He enjoyed cooking and eating good food.  He was fond of custom embroidered polo shirts and small leatherwork items.  He enjoyed reading about history and politics and watching old Westerns and college basketball.  Jimmy Buffett and Harry Chapin were among his favorite musicians.  He firmly believed a daily newspaper was a key to understanding the world.

John is survived by his son Matthew and older brother Bruce.