The funeral mass for John Henry Van Cuyk will be 11:00 a.m. Thursday, July 15, 2010 at St. Pius X Catholic Church in Rochester, Minn., with the Rev. Thomas Loomis  and Rev. Charlie I. Collins officiating.  Visitation will be held from 5:00 – 8:00 p.m. Wednesday, July 14, 2010 at Macken Funeral Home and one half  hour prior to services at the church on Thursday.  Burial will be in St. Agnes Cemetery in Kellogg, MN on Friday, July 16, 2010.

Mr. Van Cuyk, 89, of Rochester, Minn., died Saturday, July 10, 2010 at Golden Living Center West .

John was born on July 7, 1921 in Little Chute, Wis., to Henry and Anna Van Cuyk.  He grew up in Kimberly, Wisconsin where he attended school.  John served stateside in the United States Army during WWII from 1941 to 1945.  He pitched in major league baseball for the Brooklyn Dodgers and later played for the Saint Paul Saints.  After John's baseball career ended, he went into real estate and car sales.  John married Josephine Fiers in 1941 in Kimberly, WI, who later passed away in 1988.  On December 9, 1989, he remarried Kathryn R. Ellison in Cleveland, Ohio.

John was a member of the Knights of Columbus and the Elks.

Survivors include his wife; sons, John Jay (Lila) Van Cuyk of Phoenix, AZ and Lonnie P. (Linda) Van Cuyk of Schaumburg, IL; step-children, Judy (Chris) Canney of Bloomington, MN, John (Diane) Ellison of Lewiston, Idaho and Liz (Michael) Yochum of Rochester, MN; 6 grandchildren, 6 step-grandchildren, 8 great-grandchild.  John is preceded in death by his parents, Henry and Anna Van Cuyk; first wife, Josephine; brothers, Joseph, Frank and Chris Van Cuyk; sister, Delores.

Memorials are preferred to Lourdes High School or the American Cancer Society.

Macken Funeral Home in charge of arrangements.

Online condolences are welcome at www.mackenfuneralhome.com