Andresen, Raymond 1923-2015

ANDRESEN, SCHMIDT, MILLER

Posted By: Doris Hoffman, Volunteer (email)
Date: 7/29/2017 at 12:57:16

Raymond Andresen

November 08, 2015

Raymond John Andresen passed peacefully from this world to be with his Lord on Sunday, November 8, 2015, at Unity Point St. Luke''s Hospital in Sioux City after a short illness.

Friends and family are invited to celebrate his life on Thursday, November 12, at 2:00 p.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church, 220 Hardy Street, Akron, Iowa. Visitation with the family present will be 1:00 p.m. until service time Thursday at the church. Pastor Susan Juilfs will officiate. Burial will be in Riverside Cemetery in Akron. Arrangements are with the Carlsen Funeral Home-Schroeder Chapel in Akron.

Raymond Andresen was born March 17, 1923, on a farm in Portland Township, Plymouth County, Iowa, to H. Herman Andresen and Hilda (Schmidt) Andresen. He was baptized and confirmed at Trinity Lutheran Church in Akron. He attended Breezy Hill School, Portland Township through the 8th grade and Akron High School, graduating in 1940. Raymond married Anne S. Miller on January 12, 1945, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Akron. They farmed together in Big Springs Township, Union County, South Dakota, for 28 years, during which time they began to raise their four daughters. He built their house in Akron, where they moved in 1973 after selling the farm. Ray then began his career as a self-employed carpenter. He was well-known in the community for his craftsmanship. He also made his children and grandchildren several keepsakes that will be cherished. Ray was a life-long member of Trinity Lutheran Church. He was a charter member and the first President of the Trinity Lutheran Brotherhood. He also served 15 years as Sunday School Superintendent. He was a member of the building committee when the new church was built in 1968, and was instrumental in getting the new pitched roof over the educational unit. He served as a member of the Centennial Committee when Trinity observed its 100 year Centennial in 1994. Ray was a loving husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather and enjoyed spending time with his family. He and his wife, Anne, enjoyed traveling together, especially to visit their daughters, and they also were dance partners for many years. His wife passed away this past summer shortly after they celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary. We believe they are now reunited and dancing together again on those heavenly streets of gold. In his later years, he enjoyed family visits and celebrations at the Akron Care Center, and especially enjoyed going for an afternoon ride. He was also a member of the bell choir at the Care Center.

Left to cherish his memory are his four daughters: Sandy and her husband, Ed Johnson, of Cottonwood Arizona, Marilyn and her husband, Evan Johnson, of Akron, Iowa, Jane and her husband, Bola Olorundami, of Sioux City, Iowa, and Mary and her husband, Jack Ratzsch, of Bloomington, Illinois; 11 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren; and his brother, Delmer Andresen and his wife, Lori, of Carrollton, Texas.

Raymond was preceded in death by his wife, Anne, on August 1, 2015; his daughter, Barbara Ann; and his parents, Herman & Hilda Andresen.

Raymond and his family would like to thank the entire staff of the Akron Care Center for the loving care he received while living there and also the special care given by staff at Unity Point St. Luke's Hospital.

Carlsen Funeral Home-Schroeder Chapel
Akron, Iowa