Obituaries from the week of June 6, 2001 Headlight Herald - Serving Tracy, Minnesota, since 1880
William De Blieck, 88
Funeral services were held on Wednesday, June 6, 2001 for William DeBlieck at Holy Family Catholic Church in Kasson, MN. Fr. Charlie Collins officiated.
William was born on March 16, 1913 in Atkinson, IL. He later moved with his family to the Walnut Grove area and that is where he grew up.
On July 3, 1935 he was married to Ethel E. Edwards in Tracy, MN. They lived and farmed in the Tracy area until 1967 when he began working at St. Mary's Hospital in Rochester, MN. He retired in 1975 and moved to Kasson, MN in 1999.
He was a member of the Holy Family Catholic Church in Kasson and the MN Knights of Columbus of Rochester, MN.
William passed away on Sunday, June 3, 2001 at St. Mary's Hospital in Rochester, MN.
He is survived by his wife Ethel, sons Dale (Judy) DeBlieck, Florence, CO, Duane (Brenda) DeBlieck, St. Peter, MN and Donald (Cindy) DeBlieck, Zumbrota, MN; daughters Eileen (Wendell) Trei, Glenwood Springs, CO, Julie (Tom) Duncan, Lenoir City, TN and Brenda (David) Wright, Kingston, TN; daughter-in-law Mary DeBlieck, Tracy, MN; brothers Donald (Patricia) DeBlieck, Park Rapids, MN and Norman (Edith) DeBlieck, Tracy, MN.
He was preceded in death by three sons, Dennis, Dean and Marvin; two grandchildren and three brothers.
Interment was held at Calvary Cemetery in Tracy, MN with Father Brian Mandel officiating.
Dibble Funeral Home of Kasson handled arrangements.
Merlin Herrmann, 77
Merlin was born to Leonard and Maude Herrmann on March 7, 1924 in Slayton, MN. He was baptized and confirmed at St. John's Lutheran Church, Hadley, MN. He attended school District 110 and graduated from Slayton High School in 1942.
On December 22, 1944 he was united in marriage to Marion Dickey of Balaton, MN. He farmed in Minnesota until moving to California to work for the Santa Fe Railroad as a telegrapher and station manager in Hughson. He then worked for Western Airlines as Asst. Station Manager for 24 years, retiring in 1972.
In 1973 his family moved from Castro Valley, CA to Selma, OR, where he owned and operated The Pig Farm; he was a contractor in the Illinois Valley area, was Grange Master for the Deer Creek Grange and was also active in the Selma Baptist Church, serving as a deacon and was trained as a parliamentarian.
He enjoyed restoring old cars, building grandfather clocks, going to auctions and traveling.
Merlin passed away at Providence Medford Medical Center on Sunday, April 22, 2001.
Surviving are his wife Marion of 801 Thompson Creek Road, Selma; two sons Merle (Janice) of Caas Bay, Mark (Marlee) of Sacramento, CA; two sisters (Floyd) Marion Hanson, Currie, MN, (Dale) Evelyn McKenzie of Slayton, MN; one brother Kenneth (Dorothy) of Willmar, MN.
Preceding him in death one son Myron 1996; one grandson; one granddaughter.
Memorial graveside services were held on April 27. Pastor Monte Pope officiated. Inurnment was at Deer Creek Cemetery, Selma.
Arthur Hoffrogge, 79
Funeral services for Arthur Hoffrogge, 79, of Tracy will be held at 2 p.m., Thursday, June 7, 2001, at Tracy Lutheran Church. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m., Wednesday, June 6 at the Almlie Funeral Home in Tracy. There will be a 7:30 p.m. prayer service. Visitation will continue on Thursday morning at the funeral home from 9 to noon and at the church one hour prior to services. Burial will be in the Tracy City Cemetery.
Mr. Hoffrogge died on Sunday, June 3, 2001 at Avera-McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls, SD.
Arthur Henry Hoffrogge was born July 20, 1921 to Henry and Anna (Henning) Hoffrogge in North Hero Township of Redwood County, MN. He attended public school in Revere.
Art was married to Rosella Westie on September 25, 1942 at the Lutheran parsonage in Lamberton. They made their home on a farm by Revere and then moved to a farm north of Walnut Grove. In 1957, they purchased their present farm near Tracy.
Art loved the land and enjoyed farming. His other enjoyments included visiting with family and friends and fishing.
Art was baptized on September 4, 1921 and confirmed on November 14, 1937 at the Lutheran church in Revere. He was an active member of the Tracy Lutheran Church.
Art is survived by his wife, Rosella; three daughters and their husbands, Alice and David Schreier of Currie, Charlotte and Tom Illg of New Prague, and Sharon and Paul Engberg of San Antonio, TX; two brothers and their wives, Walter and Lois Hoffrogge of New Ulm and Ralph and Helen Hoffrogge of Hammond, IN; three sisters and their spouses, Mildred Werner of Willmar, Arlene and Norm Thiel of Redwood Falls and Dianne and Dave Garvin of Canby, OR; nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
His parents, a grandson, one brother and one sister preceded him in death.
Edward Knakmuhs, 75
Services were held for Edward E. Knakmuhs on Monday, June 4, 2001 at St. Paul's Catholic Church in Walnut Grove, MN. Rev. Fr. Brian Mandel officiated. Maydra Maas was organist, Kerry Knakmuhs played the guitar and Judy Lenertz was soloist.
Honorary casket bearers were George Bartlett, Harvey Schaffran, Carlos Knakmuhs, Darlo Harnack, LeRoy Harnack and Art Doubler.
Active casket bearers were John Knakmuhs, James Knakmuhs, David Knakmuhs, Tom Knakmuhs, Zach Knakmuhs and Jason Nelson.
Edward Earl Knakmuhs was born on July 13, 1925 in Redwood County to Paul and Effie (Jackson) Knakmuhs. He received his formal education in rural school in the area. Ed worked on a farm as a farm hand for several years and then enlisted in the Army in 1944.
He was united in marriage to Dorothy Lehnhoff on April 7, 1948 at St. Paul's Catholic Church in Walnut Grove and he farmed for awhile in Clinton, MN. In 1962 the couple moved back to a farm north of Revere. In 1977 the couple purchased a hardware store in Walnut Grove and operated it until 1982 when Ed was forced to retire because of his health.
Ed and Dorothy moved to Walnut Grove in 1993. He was admitted to the Valley View Manor in Lamberton on May 22, 2001.
Ed was a member of St. Paul's Catholic Church, the American Legion Post in Revere, the VFW in Westbrook, the Knights of Columbus and a past board member of North Hero Township. He loved to hunt when he was able, collect pens, hats and really enjoyed playing cards with family and friends.
Edward passed away on Wednesday, May 30, 2001 at the Valley View Manor in Lamberton, MN after a lingering illness.
He is survived by his wife of 53 years Dorothy of Walnut Grove; four sons: Michael and his wife Diane of Brainerd, MN; Paul and his wife Nancy of Lamberton, MN; Mark and his wife Jody of Rapid City, SD, Steven and his wife Robin of Tyndall, SD; two daughters, Mrs. Jerome (Bernice) Batalden of Thief River Falls, MN, Mrs. Roger (Julia) Paluch of Sioux Falls, SD; 20 grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; four brothers, Richard of Walnut Grove, Lloyd of Revere, Floyd of Westbrook, MN, George (Jim) of Fairfax, VA; one sister Mrs. Duane (Virene) Shea, Walnut Grove; many nieces and nephews.
Ed was preceded in death by his parents; one son Todd Eric, and two brothers John and Howard.
Werner Kolbe, 80
Graveside services were held for Werner Kolbe on Saturday, June 2, 2001 at the Tracy City Cemetery. Mr. Kolbe died on April 20, 2001 at the Tracy Area Hospital.
Werner Kolbe was born July 21, 1920 at Raymond, MN to Arthur and Tillie (Wendland) Kolbe. He attended public schools at Sleepy Eye and Garvin, MN.
He entered the U.S. Army in January 18, 1945 and served with the 720th Military Police Battalion in the Philippines and Japan as an MP for 12-1/2 months and was discharged on November 19, 1946. After coming home from the service he purchased the home farm and stayed on the farm until moving to Twin Circle Apartments in 1993. He entered the Prairie View Healthcare Center in June of 2000.
Survivors include one sister and brother-in-law, Phyllis and Orville Gullickson of Mesa, AZ; two brother and their wives, Delbert and Betty Kolbe of Mesa, AZ, Merrill and Norma Kolbe of Apache Junction, AZ; one aunt, Goldia Wendland of Springfield, MN; special friend, Florence “Tiny” Smith of Tracy, MN; three nieces, Sharon Hoel of Anoka, MN, Shirley Kolbe of Anoka, MN and Karen Booker of Lawrence, KS; three nephews, Darold Kolbe of Spring Valley, CA, Del Kolbe of Mesa, AZ, Dennis Kolbe of Mesa, AZ and five great-nieces and nephews.
His parents and one sister, Valeera preceded him in death.
The Almlie Funeral Home in Tracy handled the arrangements.
Lester Morgan, 83
Funeral services will be held on Thursday, June 7 at 11 a.m. at the Paynesville Lutheran Church for Lester J. Morgan, formerly of Tracy. Visitation will be held from 5 to 9 p.m. Wednesday at Johnson Funeral Home in Paynesville and one hour prior to the service at the church.
Lester John Morgan was born October 27, 1917 in Tracy, MN. He was the son of William and Hannah (Lewis) Morgan. Lester was baptized at a Welsh country church near Tracy and later confirmed. He grew up on a family farm near Tracy where he attended country school. In 1935 he graduated from Tracy High School.
On November 18, 1948 Lester was married to Esther Menk at the Zion Lutheran Church in Tracy. Following their marriage they farmed the family farm, which was the original homestead, near Tracy. In 1986 Lester retired from farming. In 1989 Lester and Esther moved to Paynesville where they have lived since. Lester has been a resident at the Koronis Manor since 1995. He was a member of the Paynesville Lutheran Church.
Lester enjoyed being a Monroe Township Election Clerk while living near Tracy. He loved going to auctions and he enjoyed being with family and friends. He would often strike up conversations with strangers, turning them into friends quickly. Lester loved what farm life had to offer. Whether it was raising feeder pigs, driving his tractors, or just living on the farm - he loved it all. He also enjoyed fiddle music and the Grand Ole Opry, and going to Nashville, TN. Most of all, Lester loved being a husband, dad, grandfather, and great-grandfather. And he was great at being all of them. Lester was a very special man, and he will be greatly missed.
Lester passed away on Sunday, June 3, 2001 at the Koronis Manor in Paynesville at the age of 83.
Lester is survived by his wife Esther of Paynesville, sons Bruce (Anne) of Eagan, Dennis (June) of Nashville, TN, daughter Julie (Pat) of Eagan; four grandchildren; one great-grandchild.
He was preceded in death by his parents, and infant brother Cecil.
Interment will be held in the Paynesville Cemetery. Johnson Funeral Home of Paynesville is handling arrangements.