Ott, Fidelis Joseph 1920 - 2017
OTT, HACKMAN, EINCK, WHEALY, HUMPAL, UEDA, NIEMEYER, WHALEY, MILLER, HERYFORD, OCONNOR, MERSHON, BRUESS, KOUDELKA, BARLOON, BULLERMAN, SCHRANDT, NATHEM
Posted By: Joy Moore (email)
Date: 5/19/2024 at 21:00:38
April 05, 1920 - October 01, 2017
Fidelis “Dale” Ott, age 97, of Festina, IA, died on Sunday, October 1, 2017 at his home with his loving family by his side.
Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, October 7, 2017 at Our Lady of Seven Dolors Catholic Church in Festina, with Rev. Robert Gross presiding. Burial will be in the church cemetery.
Visitation will be from 4:00-7:00 p.m., on Friday, October 6, 2017 at the Schluter-Balik Funeral Home, French Chapel, 202 South Washington Street, Calmar, IA and also after 10:00 a.m., at the Church on Saturday morning. There will be a rosary at 3:30 p.m., on Friday at the funeral home.
Fidelis Joseph Ott was born on April 5, 1920 to Baptist “Bob” and Helena (Hackman) Ott in rural St. Lucas, Iowa. Dale attended St. Lukes Catholic School in St. Lucas. After graduation, he began to work on local farms milking cows by hand for 50 cents a day plus room and board. Dale married the love of his life, Helen Caroline Einck, on February 20, 1946 at Our Lady of Seven Dolors Catholic Church in Festina. They rented a farm near Waucoma, Iowa for five years before buying the Einck family home place in rural Festina. Together they raised their family, farmed side by side, and had a dairy until his retirement in 1982. Dale was a lifelong member of Our Lady of Seven Dolors and a Forester for over fifty years.
Dale loved spending time with his family, especially his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He enjoyed fishing, playing euchre, and collecting rocks and arrowheads. Dale was never afraid to tackle any repair job, including his own mending, and could fix anything with a soldering iron and a piece of twine. Dale loved to garden and his summers were spent picking blackcaps, canning bread and butter pickles, fermenting sauerkraut under the hostas, and cracking hickory nuts and walnuts from his yard. He never learned to complain. Dale touched many lives in the community with his kind spirit by giving away German Pink tomatoes, seeds and flowers from his garden.
Dale is survived by his three children: Robert (Linda) Ott, Diane Ott Whealy and Kathy (Dave) Humpal. Eleven grandchildren: Geoff Ott (Sommer Ueda), Jennifer (Ryan) Niemeyer, Aaron (Becky) Whaley, Amy Whealy, Tracy (Adam) Miller, Carrie (Ryan Heryford) Whealy, Jessica (Patrick O’Connor) Whealy, Chad (Amanda) Humpal, Jeremy (Cali) Humpal, Jamie (Michael) Mershon, Megan (Dalton) Bruess. Seventeen great grandchildren: Evan, Claire and Kathryn Niemeyer; Jack, Owen and Grant Whaley; Solomon and Vera Miller; Landon, Kennedy and Levi Humpal; Gracyn and Jaxton Humpal; Hadley and Willa Mershon; Rowan and Henry Bruess. One sister: Hermina Koudelka. Sister-in-law: Bernice Einck.
Dale was preceded in death by his wife Helen in 1996. Brothers: Roman (Philomena), Leo (Catherine), Oscar (Thecla), Paul, Herbert (Rita). Sisters: Leona (Leonard) Barloon, Hilda (Victor) Bullerman and Agnes in infancy. Brothers-in-law: Louis Koudelka, Edwin (Irene) Einck, Herbert (Freda) Einck, Jerome (Rita) Einck, Leander (Adella) Einck, Leo Einck, Leroy (Deanna) Einck, Lorraine (Hugo) Schrandt, and Rose (Loren) Nathem, and many nieces and nephews.
The family wishes to thank the Winneshiek County Public Health, St. Croix Hospice Care and the Schluter-Balik Funeral Home for their care and support before and after Dale’s death.
Dale’s simple outlook on life was an inspiration to us all. He will truly be missed.
Source: Schluter - Balik Funeral Home database
Our Lady of Seven Dolors Cemetery
Winneshiek Obituaries maintained by Jeff Getchell.
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