Funeral service for John E. Suderman, 82, Isabella, will be held at 2:00 PM, Friday, October 14, 2016 at the Saron Mennonite Church, Orienta, Oklahoma. Arrangements are by Fairview Funeral Home Inc.
John Suderman was born on August 22, 1934, to John and Annie Suderman. He lived with his family in Isabella until they purchased their farm. He actively began working the farm with his dad at age 9, and farming became his life's passion.

He attended school at Peerless through 8th grade and graduated from Fairview High School in 1952. Having worked all his life for his dad on the farm, he then worked at custom harvesting for several years. During the years 1956 - 1958 he served in the Army, after which he returned home to continue farming, branching out into raising baby calves. In 1966 he met Carolyn Jo Butler through mutual friends and she later became his wife. They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on July 9th of 2016. Over the years he took on various jobs in addition to farming, such as school bus driver for Progressive and substitute rural mail carrier. In order to add to the family income, in 1981 he began working as a lease operator for Universal Resources Corporation and remained in their employ until 1999 when he retired from their organization.

Throughout it all, he kept on farming. After his retirement, he built a barn, and with the help of his granddaughter and wife he restored his 1957 International tractor. One project that brought him a lot of joy was building a playhouse for his granddaughters, which even had electricity. At the time of his passing, he was still working to restore his 1946 Farmall tractor, which had been his dad's. While many other men have hobbies, John's hobby was working. He was happiest when he was working on a project, building something, or working the ground.

John passed away early in the morning on Tuesday, October 11th. His faith was an important part of his life as he accepted the Lord as his Savior at a young age. He was just about to finish reading through the Bible for the ninth time this year. He was also dedicated to the church and served at various times during his life.

He is survived by his wife Jo, son Chad, daughter Heidi, and granddaughters Savanna and Madisen, as well as his sisters Liz and Barbara, and countless beloved nieces, nephews, family, and friends.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Gideon's International.