John J. Rinker Honored As Veteran Of The Month
WARSAW — John J. Rinker, Syracuse, was honored as the July veteran of the month at the Kosciusko County commissioners meeting Tuesday, July 11.
Born Aug. 8, 1931 in Cowen, Indiana to Lossie and Mae, he was one of seven children. The family moved to Riverwood where his father began building wooden boats out of his workshop on the White River. Rinker and his brother joined their father in building and racing their own boats.
At the encouragement of their father, Rinker and his brother, Jan, joined the National Guard.
Rinker met his wife, Beverly Sue Pierce, while riding the school bus. In 1949 they eloped. Shortly after that, Rinker and his brother, Jan, were drafted into the Army. At that time, only one member of a family serving in the military could be sent to the front lines.
His brother served in Europe, while Rinker went to the front lines in Korea. He recalls digging trenches and delivering supplies to the men fighting on the front lines. Rinker was named an active Sergeant.
“I had an easy job,” Rinker said, “All I had to do was take ammunition to the front lines and then go back to my truck and get out of there.”
In 1953 he left the service and returned home to Beverly. They moved to Goshen to join his parents, who were still involved in the boat-building industry. In 1954 Rinker started Famous Craft Boats in Syracuse, along with his father and brother, Jan. They eventually changed the name of the business to Rinkerbuilt.
They were one of the first companies to introduce fiberglass into the manufacturing process, along with other innovations, such as multiple gel coat colors and back-to-back seating.
In the 1980s, the name was changed to Rinker Boats. The company began building cruisers, with the introduction of the Fiesta Vee Cruiser.
In 1995 Rinker Boat celebrated their 50 year anniversary. The company had grown from a small family business to a major employer in the Syracuse area, selling boats nationwide and exporting to numerous countries overseas.
In 2005 Nautic Global Group became the parent company of Rinker Boats, and Rinker retired from the boat industry. He continues to stay involved in the boat-racing community by attending races where he watches his nephew and his nephew’s sons race Formula One boats around the country. Rinker enjoys spending time with his four daughters, Lori, Lea, Resia and Raeni and his six grandchildren. He also enjoys bowling, playing cards, dancing and exercising.
Rinker still enjoys doodling ideas he has for boats on scraps of paper which can be found lying around his house.
Rinker attended the veteran of the month ceremony accompanied by his daughter, Resia. Upon finding out that he would be receiving a framed certificate for being honored as veteran of the month, Rinker was quite excited and said, “I get to keep that? That’s something I can brag about!”