[ Return to Index ] [ Read Prev Msg ] [ Read Next Msg ]

GRADERT, Eldon Carl 1927-2012

GRADERT, KERKVLIET, MICHEEL, MCKENZIE, LEMAY

Posted By: Diane M Scott (email)
Date: 11/3/2013 at 18:35:48

Eldon Carl Gradert – February 13, 1927 – March 9, 2012

Eldon Carl Gradert, 85, Bloomington, formerly of Luverne, died Friday, March 9, 2012, at the Wealshire of Bloomington.
A funeral service was Monday, March 12, at St. Catherine Catholic Church in Luverne. Burial followed at St. Catherine Catholic Cemetery.

Eldon Gradert was born Feb. 13, 1927, to Carl and Martha (Micheel) Gradert in Virgil, S.D. The family moved from South Dakota to Ash Creek in 1935. In 1938 they moved to a farm near Luverne. He attended country school and Luverne High School. He went on to graduate from the School of Agriculture at the University of Minnesota in 1947. He spent many evenings at the KDUV dance hall near Kanaranzi and at the Arkota Ballroom in Sioux Falls, S.D.,

He served in the Korean War as a member of the 17th Infantry Regiment of the 7th Division, 2nd Battalion. He served in the Army from 1950-1952. He was in the Battle of the Punch Bowl and was a guard to the United Nations delegates at the Peace Talks. He was awarded the Combat Infantryman’s Badge. He was then in the Army Reserves until 1956.

On April 26, 1952, he married **Ronnie Kerkvliet in Sioux Falls. They farmed near Kanaranzi and Alvord, Iowa. He and his family then took over his parents’ farm near Luverne in 1968. The couple retired and moved to Luverne in 1998.

He was a founding member of the Rock County Rural Water District. He was also a member of the American Legion, the VFW, and the Lions Club. He attended St. Catherine Catholic Church and was in the Knights of Columbus and on the church council. He enjoyed bowling, playing cards, dancing, traveling and having coffee with his friends at Glen’s Food Center.

Mr. Gradert is survived by his wife, Veronica Gradert, Bloomington; four children, Bryce (Patti) Gradert, Carson City, Nev., Karla (Dave) McKenzie, Apple Valley, Lisa (Doug) Le May, Roseville and Lynda Gradert, Minneapolis; 10 grandchildren; a brother, Marvin (Donna) Gradert, Terre Haute, Ind.; a brother-in-law, Torlief Thompson, Luverne; and many other relatives and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents, a son, Brockton Gradert; and a sister, Arlene Thompson.

Memorials may be directed to St. Catherine Catholic Church.

Arrangements are by Dingmann Funeral Home of Luverne, www.dingmannandsons.com.

Rock County, Star Herald , Luverne, Minnesota March 13, 2012

***Note: Eldon Gradert married Veronica “Ronnie” Agnes Kerrkvliet, the daughter of Gerard Kerkvliet and Matilda (VanAcken) Kerkvliet of Larchwood, Lyon Co., Iowa


 

Lyon Obituaries maintained by Cindy Booth Maher.
WebBBS 4.33 Genealogy Modification Package by WebJourneymen

[ Return to Index ] [ Read Prev Msg ] [ Read Next Msg ]