John L. Fleener, age 89, of Bowling Green, KY formerly of Flora, IL passed away at 1:35 PM on Saturday, February 23, 2013 at The Medical Center in Bowling Green, KY.

John was born on April 4, 1923 in Hoosier Township, Clay County, IL to Thomas E. and Mabel A. (Quinn) Fleener. He married Beverly Shriner on May 26, 1948 in Flora, IL. She preceded him in death on October 27, 2012.

John grew up in Louisville, IL where he went to school and helped his father on the farm. In 1943 he was drafted into the Army where he trained and then joined the Army Air Corp. John returned home in 1946 to continue farming with his father and working at a machine shop for Leonard Connerly. He also flew planes for Hugh (Pidge) Cox in his spare time. After marrying, John and Bev lived in an apartment in Flora where John began working for Dow Industrial Service. In 1952 they made a move to Peoria, IL where he attended Bradley University graduating with a degree in Watch Making. They moved back to Flora where they later built a house and John returned to work for Dow. John was transferred to Taylorville, IL in 1956, and then again in 1958 to Jefferson City, MO. Another transfer led them to St. Albans, WV before moving one last time with his job to Baton Rouge, LA in 1967. After retiring John and Bev moved to Bowling Green, KY to be closer to their family and they had more free time to do the things they enjoyed. John loved spending time operating his HAM radio contacting people all over the world. He often spoke to old friends from Baton Rouge catching up and remembering good times from the past.

He is survived by a daughter: Jean (Jim) Ferguson of Bowling Green, KY; 3 grandchildren: Tricia (Tyler) Colvin of Bowling Green, KY, Kim (Ryan) Street of O’Fallon, IL Matt (Stephanie) Ferguson of Bowling Green, KY; and 7 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, and a brother (Jim Fleener).

The funeral service for John L. Fleener will be held at 10 AM on Saturday, March 2, 2013 at the Frank & Bright Funeral Home in Flora. Burial will follow in Elmwood Cemetery, Flora, with military honors presented. Visitation will be from 6-8 PM on Friday at the funeral home. The family has requested that memorial donations be made to the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation.