| Name | John Winkelman |
| Agency | Huntley Fire Protection District |
| Rank | Captain |
| Type of Firefighter | Career |
| Age Range | 51 to 55 |
| Sex | Male |
| Date of Birth | 2/12/1958 |
| Date of Death | 4/12/2012 |
| Cause of Death | Thrown from vehicle |
| Nature of Death | Trauma |
| Attribute of Death | [not applicable] |
| Type of Duty | Non-emergency/Non-firehouse duties |
| Incident Name | N/A |
| Incident City | Crystal Lake |
| Incident State | IL |
| Incident Date | 4/12/2012 |
| Incident Location | Street/Road |
| Incident Attribute | Traffic accidents |
On April 12, 2012, Captain John C. Winkelman of the Huntley Fire Protection District was killed in a motorcycle accident in Crystal Lake, Illinois after attending a fire department meeting.
Winkelman was attending a meeting at a dispatch center while on assignment as the District’s Communication Officer. After leaving the meeting, Winkelman was traveling west on Route 176 on his personally owned motorcycle when he collided with a car turning east onto the roadway from Mt. Thabor Road. Winkelman was thrown from the motorcycle and was transported to Centegra Hospital, where he died from his injuries.
Funeral services for Winkelman were held at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Union, Illinois and he was interred in Marengo City Cemetery. More than 450 people, including 300 firefighters, attended the funeral. Winkelman was survived by his wife, three daughters, two stepsons, seven grandchildren, his brother, and his mother-in-law.
Winkelman previously served as Chief of the Marengo Rescue Squad. He was a volunteer firefighter with the Huntley Fire Protection District for three years before beginning to work there full time in 1991. Winkelman was also a recipient of a humanitarian award for his assistance during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Citations:
Katie Anderson, “Huntley fire captain dies in Thursday motorcycle crash,” Northwest Herald, April 13, 2012.
Obituary of John C. Winkelman, Northwest Herald, April 15, 2012.
“Illinois fire captain killed in crash following a meeting,” Firehouse.com News, April 16, 2012.
Lenore T. Adkins, “Final bell sounds for fallen Huntley fire captain,” Daily Herald, April 18, 2012.