Owen L. Gertgen

Owen L. Gertgen, age 94, of Kandiyohi, died Saturday morning, November 21, at Glen Oaks Care Center in New London.  Mass of Christian Burial will be 12 p.m (noon) Saturday, June 19, at the Church of Our Lady of the Lakes in Spicer with a dinner to follow at the American Legion in Spicer. Military Honors will be provided American Legion Post #167.  Memorials are preferred to Let's Go Fishing, Willmar Chapter. Funeral arrangements are with Harvey Anderson Funeral Home in Willmar.  www.hafh.org

Owen was born June 9, 1926, in Atwater, Minnesota, the son of Ed Borchardt and Mabel Gertgen.  He grew up in the rural Spicer area, was baptized and confirmed at St. John Lutheran Church near Atwater, and graduated from Atwater High School.  He later attended Dunwoody Institute and Coyne College in Chicago for electrician training.  Owen served in the US Navy in both World War II and the Korean War.

On September 19, 1950, he married Dorothy Bagley in Regal.  They lived in Regal, Spicer, and Willmar, before moving to Kandiyohi where they have lived for the past 62 years.  Owen worked as an electrician for 55 years, first at Willmar Electric, and later at F & H Electric and All City Electric in Willmar and B & K Electric in International Falls. He later owned his own businesses, Tri-More Electric, Kandy Electric and finally Owen’s Electric before retiring in 2006.

He was a member of the Church of St. Patrick in Kandiyohi until its closing and then joined the Church of Our Lady of the Lakes in Spicer.  He served as a trustee, lector, and usher and on the building board at the Church of St. Patrick.  He served as president of Local 292 and was a member of the Toastmasters Club in Willmar.  Owen enjoyed fishing, bird watching, and hunting.  Owen and Dorothy wintered for 17 years in Lake Placid, FL and for 3 years in Mathis, TX, where they managed the KOA Campground.

He is survived by his wife: Dorothy Gertgen of Kandiyohi, MN; his four children: Mike (and Becky) Gertgen of Austin, TX, Tom (and Verna) Gertgen of Spicer, MN, Sharon (and Steve) Luft of Kandiyohi, MN, and Jeff (and Millie) Gertgen of Sauk City, WI; ten grandchildren; fifteen great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandchild.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his siblings.

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