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Halvor “Hal” Fodness

Halvor Fodness

Halvor “Hal” Fodness, 91, of New Ulm died Monday, Dec. 5, 2016 at the Oak Hills Living Center in New Ulm.

Memorial service will be 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 11, 2016 at the Minnesota Valley Funeral Home, SOUTH CHAPEL, in New Ulm with Pastor Dave Nissen officiating. Full military honors will be conducted at the funeral home after the service by the New Ulm Area Comrades of Valor Honor Guard. Burial will be later in the New Ulm City Cemetery in New Ulm.

Visitation will be 12-2 p.m. Sunday at the Minnesota Valley Funeral Home, SOUTH CHAPEL, in New Ulm. To leave an online condolence for his family or to sign the guestbook go to: www.mvfh.org.

He is survived by children, Scott (Lynda), Sharon (Dave), Kathy (Pat) and Mark (Karen); grandchildren, Jay, Jarod, Justin, Jenna, Kyle, Adam, Halle, Joseph, Daniel, James, Emma, Noah and 7 great-grandchildren.

Hal is preceded in death by his brothers James and Leo and sisters Dorothy, Helen and Beth.

Hal was born in 1925 to Carl and Lydia Fodness and grew up on a farm near Blackduck, Minnesota. After graduating from Blackduck High School in 1942, Hal enlisted in the Marine Corps and served in the Second Tank Battalion, Second Marine Division at the battles of Saipan, Tinian, and Okinawa. Hal returned to Minnesota and married Gertrude Johnson in 1947. They settled in New Ulm and Hal started Fodness Heating. Hal and Gert had four children, Scott, Sharon, Kathy and Mark. After more than 40 years of raising a family, traveling widely, and participating in their community together, Gert passed away in 1988. In 1991, Hal married Kathleen Schwartz and they shared many good years together. Kathleen passed away in 2009. Hal was a wonderful, caring husband who saw both wives through extended illnesses with compassion and loving patience.

After retiring, Hal volunteered for the Meals on Wheel program, distributed books to shuts-in, and was on the Board of Directors during the remodeling of the Wanda Gag house. He enjoyed hiking in Flandrau State Park and Fort Ridgely and going to the Kaiserhoff, Senior Center and Perkins. He was an avid reader and a thoughtful observor of society. He was a wonderful husband and father, and deeply committed to his community.

Memorials given will be divided between the Senior Center, Meals on Wheels, and Flandrau State Park (a sapling and a bench in Hal’s memory).

www.mvfh.org

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