Mass of Christian burial will be 11 a.m. on Monday, February 7, 2022, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in New Ulm. Father Shawn Pollman will celebrate the Mass, and burial will follow in the New Ulm Catholic Cemetery where full military honors will be provided by the New Ulm Area Comrades of Valor Honor Guard.

Visitation will be from 3-6 p.m. on Sunday, and continue from 9-10:30 a.m. on Monday at the Minnesota Valley Funeral Home-North Chapel in New Ulm.

The funeral service will be live-streamed through the Minnesota Valley Funeral Home’s Facebook page starting at 11 a.m. on Monday.

To leave an online condolence for his family, or to sign the guestbook, go to: mvfh.org

Dad grew up on the farm and graduated Nicollet High School in 1963. After graduation he served in the Army and was stationed in Germany during the Vietnam War. When Dad returned home from the Army, he completed a degree from Mankato Vocational College. He met Mom, also known as Mom!!, aka Barbara Pumper, in 1971. It was an accident. He called for Mom’s roommate but she “just wasn’t into him” so Mom took the call and ended up talking to Dad way into the wee hours of the night. They were married on November 4, 1972 in Mankato. They raised their five children in New Ulm, Minnesota.

Dad wore the most serene and joyful smile whenever he saw his grandkids. When his first grandchild, AJ, was born, he blossomed into the role of grandpa. He was proud of Ash’s creative spirit and looked forward to what Isaac would do in the Civil Air Patrol. In recent years, he would spend hours captive in front of the screen as Vosh and Siggi FaceTimed him from Denver. Aside from his family, work was one of the most important things to Dad. He started at Lindsay Soft Water and worked there through the Warta Water and then EcoWater epochs. He was bottling water and installing and repairing water softeners until his final days. Dad’s other work included collecting random stuff that might come in handy someday, acts of service to his kids that didn’t always make sense but were always straight from the heart, making a mess (but not cleaning anything up), shoveling snow, building the family home and garage, and working from sun up to sun down every blessed day. He usually did whatever Mom asked him to do. Except take off his shoes in the house. Dad was a stubborn old German of few words, though he did appreciate a good joke. I don’t think Dad ever heard a fart joke that didn’t make him cry with laughter. He often got into a huff about leaving on time. “Let’s go!” might be the last thing you’d hear before Dad left the room, if he said anything at all. This is how Dad tried to hurry along the intake process at the hospital as well, which is very on brand. It’s also not altogether different from how he left this world. Dad knew where he was going. He was ready.

Our dearly departed who’ve gone before Dad are his parents; children Tamara Marie Netzke and Jeremiah Carroll Netzke; siblings Albert Netzke and Martha Weimern; brothers-in-law, a niece and nephew.

Cherishing his memory are wife of 49 years, Barb Netzke of New Ulm; children Becky (Dan) Clark of Hastings, Casie Netzke (Travis Gislason) of Denver, Colorado, and Nathaniel Netzke of Eagle Lake; grandchildren, Lance Corporal AJ Netzke, Sarah Clark, Isaac Clark, Vosh Gislason and Sigourney Gislason; siblings Cedric (Carmel) Netzke of Nicollet, Paul Netzke of Nicollet, Chuck (Jan) Netzke of Colorado, Judy (Rich) Noyd of Kasota, Lucy Eichten of Wabasso, Marvel (Steve) Roberts of Madelia, Dee Martini of Florida, and nieces, nephews, relatives, friends and that one frenemy who shall remain nameless.

Mvfh.org

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