Jeff Dinkel, 76 year old of Long Prairie, passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family on Friday, December 26, 2025, at the Quiet Oaks Hospice House.
A Mass of Christian Burial will take place on Tuesday, January 6, 2026, at St. Mary’s of Mount Carmel catholic Church in Long Prairie at 11:00 AM. Visitation will be at the church one hour prior to the mass. Burial will take place at a later date.
With an extended blanket of deep love and sorrow, the family of John (Jeff) Dinkel, along with the compassionate staff at Quiet Oaks Hospice House, gathered to send our beloved husband, father, grandfather, uncle, brother, and friend into the arms of his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Jeff fought a long and courageous battle with cancer. When his wife Cheryl, whom he always lovingly called his bride, could no longer care for him at home, he entered Quiet Oaks Hospice House on December 24, 2025. Surrounded by care, prayer, and love, Jeff passed peacefully on December 26, 2025.
John Dinkel was born on December 14, 1949, to David and Agnes (Waletzko) Dinkel of rural Long Prairie. Not many people know that his first name was John. Jeff’s father hoped to name him after his own father, while his mother preferred the name Jeff. In the end, his mother enrolled him in St. Mary’s Catholic School under the name Jeff, and he has been known by that name ever since. Jeff often joked that he must have been a handful, as he started school at the age of four. He attended St. Mary’s Catholic School and later graduated from Long Prairie Public School in 1967.
He was drafted into the United States Army, where he served as a helicopter crew chief stationed in Germany, and was honorably discharged in 1970. Shortly after returning home, Jeff married his childhood sweetheart, Cheryl Cizek, and together they were blessed with three beautiful children, Chad, Crista, and Kara, beginning a lifelong partnership rooted in faith, family, and hard work.
Jeff loved farming, and in their early years of marriage, he and Cheryl operated a small dairy farm with milk cows and beef cattle. Knowing that farming alone would not pay all the bills, Jeff worked a variety of jobs, including L.P. Packing, L.P. Machinery, and the Todd County Highway Department. In 1979, he became manager of the Hart Store Coast to Coast in Long Prairie. He worked with the Coast to Coast organization until 1987 and later helped establish a new Coast to Coast store after Hart’s Department Store liquidated. In 1990, Jeff joined the Phelps Organization, managing the local Hardware Hank, later Ace Hardware, until his retirement in 2017.
Hardware and farming were truly in Jeff’s blood. Many nights, after a full day at the hardware store, he could be found plowing fields on his beloved John Deere tractor. One memorable evening, he was escorted home by the local sheriff, not for trouble, but because the tractor lights were not working. Jeff liked to say the sheriff simply wanted to make sure he made it home safely.
Jeff was known throughout the community as a true “Mr. Fix-It,” always ready to lend a helping hand, share advice, or solve a problem. Many in town relied on him to change light bulbs, fix irons that did not seem to work quite right, or unclog vacuum hoses. He was a gifted storyteller, and anyone listening always walked away having learned something, whether they expected to or not. His children and grandchildren were frequent students in his informal classroom, always ready for an important lesson Grandpa needed to share.
Jeff also had a special talent for giving nicknames. Every child and grandchild received theirs at birth, and those names stuck. He loved taking road trips with no set destination. Cheryl never knew where they were going and learned that was not a question to ask. Jeff would always say he was sure she would be happy when they got there. When the children called asking where they were, Cheryl would often answer honestly that she did not rightly know at that point.
Jeff and Cheryl were blessed with seven grandchildren, Nicholas, Jacob, Jackson, Elaina, Alex, Eric, and Weston. Christmas was never complete without Jeff passing around his pocketknife to help unwrap presents, a tradition the family knows will continue for generations to come.
Jeff is survived by his bride of 55 years, Cheryl Dinkel of Long Prairie; children Chad (Amy) Dinkel of Albertville, Crista (Jeff) Thielen of Lino Lakes, and Kara (Eric) Fink of Kimball; grandchildren Nicholas, Jacob, Jackson, Elaina, Alex, Eric, and Weston; sisters Carolyn Petersen, Patricia Strack, Jane (Jim) Mitzel, and Jan Dinkel; sister-in-law Joretta (Steve) Hinrichs; brother-in-law Russ Noble, many nieces and nephews, and special friends Ivan and Jon Hoeppner.
He was preceded in death by his parents David and Agnes Dinkel, infant sister Nancy, and beloved sister Debra Noble.
He will be deeply missed and forever remembered.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-