John A. “Johnny” Schlepp, 84, of Fremont, passed away Friday, January 2, 2026 at home.
Johnny was born November 2, 1941 in Java, South Dakota, to Jacob & Elizabeth (George) Schlepp. He grew up in Selby, South Dakota, and was a true cowboy working on farms in the area. He was known to break multiple bones in his younger days mainly by getting thrown from horses while working.
After his parents divorced he moved to Arlington in 1961 to be with his mom. He worked at Campbell Soup and an alfalfa mill in the area. In 1963 he moved to Fremont and started at Magnus Metal where he would stay, as a machinist, for almost 46 years, retiring on June 4, 2009.
He met Jeri in 1963 after coming to Fremont and they were married on November 25, 1964. From this union came two daughters, Deborah & Stacy.
Johnny was a former Treasurer of the Dodge County Democrat Party for many years. He was also the Treasurer of the Local 6257 Union and a former VP of the Fremont Federation Union. He loved wood working in his spare time on the weekends and also collecting model Ho trains. He had a huge train track in the basement where the kids would love to go over and run the trains around the track.
Survivors:
Daughters – Deborah (Mike Hoffman) Schlepp of Valley
Stacy (Travis) Shafer of Crescent, Iowa
Grandsons – Malachi Shafer of San Diego, California, and his children Serenity, Penelope, & Asher;
Isiah Shafer of Council Bluffs, Iowa; Zechariah Shafer of Fremont
Sister – Sandy Severson of Medford, Oregon
Sister-In-Laws – Elaine (Gene) Crist of Fremont and Ruth Nagengast of West Point
Brother-In-Laws – Norman (Judy) Nagengast of Moorpark, California, and Daniel (Sandy) Nagengast of Emporia, Kansas
Johnny was preceded in death by his parents, wife, brothers Billy Schlepp & Jerry Steiger, sisters Julia Sladek and Helen Henry, brothers-in-law William Nagengast, Ron Vrba and Marlin Rogers, sisters-in-law Valdean Vrba and Velma Nagengast, and nephew Dennis Rogers.
Visitation will be 3 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, January 7, 2026, at the Ludvigsen Mortuary Chapel in Fremont with the family present 5 to 7. The funeral will be 10 a.m. Thursday at the Ludvigsen Mortuary Chapel. Burial will follow in Memorial Cemetery. Memorials are to the Fremont Area Alzheimer’s Collaboration or the American Heart Association. Online guestbook at www.Ludvigsenmortuary.com
