Obituaries 7/9/20

James Gabrelcik, 77

James Peter Gabrelcik, “Jim,” age 77, of Watertown, formerly of Buffalo and Shakopee, passed away on Saturday, July 4, 2020. He was born September 29, 1942 to Richard and Elizabeth (Schaust) Gabrelcik in Buffalo, Minnesota.

Jim was a career public works employee of Wright County, Minnesota. He married Marlene “Bunnie” Wandersee, and they made their home in Buffalo, Minnesota.  Jim and Bunnie enjoyed traveling, gambling and socializing. He liked to spend time in the outdoors, working on his yard. He was known for his wood-working skills.

Jim was preceded in death by his wife, “Bunnie”; parents, Richard and Elizabeth Gabrelcik.  He is survived by his siblings, Richard “Dick” (Ginger) Gabrelcik, Jack (Karlene) Gabrelcik, Paul Gabrelcik, Shirley (Dennis) Bartos, Bill Gabrelcik and friend, Mary Peterson; as well as many nieces, nephews and extended family. 

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, private family services have been held.

Arrangements by the Iten Funeral Home in Delano, Minnesota.

 


Gerald Hanson, 80

Gerald “Jerry” Lee Hanson, age 80, of Buffalo, passed away June 21, 2020.

He was born on April 16, 1940 in Litchfield, Minnesota to Earl and Margaret “Arlin” (Teisberg) Hanson. The family moved to Webster Grove, MO for a few years, before settling permanently in Minneapolis. He attended Washburn High School and graduated with the class of 1958. During his youth, he was active with Minneapolis Boy Scout Troop 187, achieving the rank of Life Scout and was also a member of the Order of the Arrow.

After high school, Jerry attended the U of M in Minneapolis as a forestry major and spent a few summers guiding BWCA canoe trips for the Boy Scouts out of Ely. In 1962, he enlisted in the Army, and served until his honorable discharge in 1968.

In 1967, Jerry was working for Miller Publishing as a folder operator when he answered an ad in the newspaper looking for someone to run some book binding equipment for Lerner Publications.  It was a fateful phone call that would impact the rest of his life. He began working for Lerner, and it was there he met his future wife, Frances Sharp. They were joined in marriage in 1974 in Buffalo, MN. Together, they have three children. Over the next 37 years, Jerry turned what started as a room full of small hand binding equipment into a multi-million dollar, 75,000 sq. foot, state-of-the art, industry-leading and internationally-recognized company called Muscle Bound Bindery Inc., where he served as President until his retirement in 2004.

After his retirement from Muscle Bound, he got a part-time job delivering parts for Napa Auto Parts in Buffalo, where he enjoyed talking with other “car guys” and mechanics and trading knowledge and their shared appreciation for cars. 

During his life, Jerry was active in many clubs and organizations. Throughout the 1990’s, he was an active member of the Printing Industry of Minnesota and served on the board of directors. He was a past president of the Bloomington Area Shrine Club, member of the Zuhrah Shrine Temple, the Minnehaha Blue Lodge, and Scottish Rite. Being the car fanatic that he was, Jerry was a member of several car-related organizations, including the National Corvette Restorers Society, the Minnesota Street Rod Association, and a founding member and past-president of the Route 55 Corvette Cruisers. He was always very mechanically inclined, to his family it seemed like there was nothing he couldn’t fix or build, from his cars to the house he lived in. He even held patents for machine parts he designed for binding machines at Muscle Bound. Jerry was an avid outdoorsman and loved to hunt and fish with his buddies and his son. He was very well traveled, having visited Europe several times for business and pleasure, as well as the former USSR, Sweden, Canada, and New Zealand, and touring the majority of the lower 48 states in a series of RV trips with his family. Jerry also loved playing poker and drinking beer with his buddies and taking flying lessons where he was just shy of getting his pilot’s license.

But his favorite hobby was collecting and working on Corvettes and classic cars and taking them out for cruises. Jerry and Fran would go to the ‘Back to the 50s’ and other events and shows where he would showcase his favorites, winning several trophies with his first and favorite, his red 1958 Corvette. To his car friends, he was known as the “8 man” for his collection of Corvettes, with years all ending in “8”: ’58, ’68, ’78, etc.   

He is preceded in death by his parents, Earl and Margaret “Arlin” (Teisberg) Hanson; brother, Ronald; and nephew, Eric.

Jerry is survived by his wife, Fran; children, Stacey (Ken), Heather (Corey), and Shaun; sister, Barbara Hedges;  grandchildren, Jordan (Miranda), Joe, Taylor, Victoria (Jared), Nick (Kaitlyn), Andrew, and Annalee; great-grandchildren, Landon, Abel, Ivan, Rebekah, Karianna, and Rhett; and many other relatives and friends.

A Celebration of Life will be held July 18 from 11:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the Classic Hall Event Center, Annandale MN. Service will begin at 12:00 p.m., luncheon to follow. In tribute to Jerry, the family requests owners of Corvettes, street rods, and classic cars to please drive them to the celebration.

Classic Hall and Event Center, 220 Poplar Lane South, Annandale, MN 55302

Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to The Peterson Chapel in Buffalo. Online condolences for the family may be directed to www.thepetersonchapel.com.

 


Gerhardt Kottke, 88

Gerhardt “Geke” Vernon Kottke, age 88, of Hanover passed away on Wednesday, July 1, 2020 at The Buffalo Hospital.

He was born on July 29, 1931, the son of Edward G. and Elisa B. (Bechtold) Kottke. “Geke” graduated from Buffalo High School in 1949. He honorably served his Country in The United States Army. On September 16, 1964, he was joined in holy marriage to Sandra L. Weege in Webster, South Dakota.

He was formerly employed as a well-driller at Bergerson & Caswell in Maple Plain. He also formerly drove a milk truck. “Geke” was a life-long, faithful member of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Hanover. He was a charter member of the Hanover Athletic Club and the Hanover Rod & Gun Club. “Geke” was a past Hanover City Council member. He and his brother, Bill, were long-time softball umpires. “Geke” belonged to the Delano Sportsman Club and to the St. Michael American Legion. 

He is survived by his loving wife of fifty-five years, Sandy; children, Lynn (Frank) Quinn, of Hamilton, Ontario, Julie (Woody) Lamke, of St. Francis, Brian (Amy) Kottke and Dave Kottke, all of Hanover; grandchildren and great grandchildren; two sisters, Lorrie Masuda, of Fridley and Bernie Shannon, of Minnetonka; a sister-in-law, Leona Kottke, of Walnut Grove and a brother-in-law, Rollie Eull, of Buffalo; many other relatives and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents, sisters Arlene Eull and Verna Schleif; brothers, Harold, Donald, Melvin, Leonard and Willard “Bill” Kottke.

Funeral Services for Gerhardt “Geke” Kottke will be held on Friday, July 10, 2020 at 1:00 p.m. at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Hanover. 

Interment with military rites will follow at St. Paul’s Lutheran Cemetery.

A visitation will be held on Thursday, July 9 from 4-8 p.m. at The Peterson Chapel St. Michael-Albertville Funeral Home.  Further visitation will be held on Friday, July 10 one hour prior to services at the church.

Casket Bearers will be members of the St. Michael American Legion Post and Brian and David Kottke, Erik and Aaron Stumne, John and Collin Kottke.

The Peterson Chapel St. Michael-Albertville Funeral Home is serving the family. Online condolences may be made to www.thepetersonchapel.com.

 


Leonard Payne, 77

Madelon Payne, 79

Leonard and Madelon (nee Grothe) Payne’s Memorial Service will be July 10th, 2020 at Peterson Chapel at 11:00am.

Leonard’s body was bequeathed to Mayo Foundation after he passed peacefully on September 22, 2016 at the age of 77. Madelon passed February 1, 2020 at the age of 79, peacefully. Both passed after visits from adult children (including spouses), grandkids (including spouses), and great-grandkids.

Leonard and Madelon were married May 11, 1963 at Dale Church, Kenyon, MN. They lived in an apartment shortly before moving to Beatrice Street in Saint Paul for about five years. They later moved to St. Peter, MN for about five years and then took off to Essex Junction, Vermont for less than a year. They moved back to Minnesota and stayed in Le Center for a couple years, finally ending up in Chaska, MN in 1976!

Leonard was born April 28, 1939 to Leonard and Thelma (nee Utz) Stapf and later adopted with all siblings by Donald and Gladys (nee Hacker) in 1947 at the age of eight. Leonard, along with his siblings, grew up working on the family farm until he graduated high school in Buffalo, MN. After high school, Leonard served in the Marine reserves. Then, Leonard started his career in the sporting goods industry as a Sales/Customer Service Representative for Larson Industries (hockey sticks, pool tables, etc.). He later worked for Northland Hockey Stick Company before joining Jerry Webb at Midwest Sports Marketing where he would make many longtime personal connections. Leonard’s career moved the family every few years, and in 1976, they finally settled in Chaska on Lake Bavaria. After retiring from Midwest Sports, Leonard continued sales working at Sears in Eden Prairie, MN for a few years and as a school bus driver before fully retiring.

Madelon was born June 1, 1940 to Obert and Gena (nee Olson) Grothe in Wanamingo, MN. Madelon grew up with three siblings on the family farm in Wanamingo and took on many chores after her mother passed at a young age. Madelon spent her free time at the neighboring farm owned by her Uncle Ray and Bernice (Bunny), spending a lot of time with her cousin Marilyn. Madelon attended and completed High School in Wanamingo, then worked as an office administrator at ADM for a few years before getting married to Leonard in 1963, kicking off her career as a housewife. Madelon had the tough task of keeping the house in order and raising their three kids (Todd, Lisa, and Steve), each born one year apart, and eventually Linda, born six years after Steve, who kept Madelon company after the older kids left home. Madelon started working outside the home in 1986 at Westin Manufacturing making water ski binding for several years, later joining her eldest son, Todd, working at Cooper’s Foods in Chaska until she retired.

Leonard and Madelon committed every available moment of their spare time to raising kids and helping with the grandkids, always encouraging them to be involved in sports and community activities while attending as many as possible. Leonard and Madelon took great pride in all their grandkids and step-grandkids, always ready to watch the grandkids at the drop of hat. Leonard and Madelon always had room for relatives visiting from out of town. Leonard and Madelon took pride in organizing and holding family events in Chaska at their Lake Bavaria home, having the boat and fishing poles ready with no shortage of food!

Leonard and Madelon were preceded in death by their parents. Left to cherish their memory, are their loving family: sons and daughters-in-law, Todd and Robin Payne, of Chaska, MN; Steve Payne and MaryAnn Lavery, of Plainfield, IL; daughters and sons-in-law, Lisa and John Robinson, of Winter Garden, FL; Linda and Bob McCune, of Lakeville, MN; grandchildren, Lindsey Cardwell and husband, Alan; Jerad Payne and wife, Jenny; Andy Kurvers and wife, Mollie; Amanda Kalkes; Emily Payne; Alexis Robinson; Brenden Payne; Ryan Payne; Michael McCune; Kayla McCune and great-grandchildren, Jacob, Hannah, James, Elias, Kathryn, Mila, Barrett. Brothers, brother-in-laws, sisters, sisters-in-laws: Sandra Grothe; Karen and Larry Freihiet, Jerry and Judy Grothe, Roger and Heidi Payne, Ed and Sharon Payne, and Shirley and Larry Kreyling; nieces, nephews and other relatives and many friends.

Memorial may be made to Alzheimer’s foundation!

Serving the family is The Peterson Chapel in Buffalo, 763-682-1363, www.thepetersonchapel.com.

 


Duane Winkler, 85

Duane Allen Winkler “Wink”, age 85, of Crystal, passed away Wednesday, July 1, 2020. He was born February 19, 1935 in Annandale, the son of Emil and Sarah (Heaton) Winkler.

Wink was a 1953 graduate of Annandale High School. He was a 40-year employee as a crane operator at Williams Steel and Hardware in Minneapolis. Wink was also a proud MSRA member.

On January 15, 1955, Duane Winkler and Yvonne Hayes were united in marriage.

Wink was a lifelong car enthusiast, enjoyed hunting, and dearly loved his dog and cats.

He was preceded in death by his parents; and two brothers, Donald and Clayton.

Wink is survived by his loving wife, Yvonne Winkler; sons, Don (Marcie) Winkler and Brian (Rita) Winkler; and many family and friends.

A funeral service was held Tuesday, July 7, 2020 at 11:00 AM, with visitation beginning at 10:00 a.m., at The Peterson Chapel in Buffalo. Burial followed at Lakeview Cemetery in Buffalo.

Serving the family is The Peterson Chapel in Buffalo, 763-682-1363, www.thepetersonchapel.com.

 

Publication: 

The Drummer and The Wright County Journal Press

PO Box 159
108 Central Ave.
Buffalo MN 55313

www.thedrummer.com

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