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Esther E. Ekern | Edward ‘Mouse’ R. Kletzke | Randall Boyd Johnston | William H. Rickoff Sr. | Laurence E. Grant | William J. Duffy
Esther E. Ekern
GALESVILLE, Wis. — Esther E. Ekern, 89, died Monday, July 21, 2008, at Marinuka Manor, Galesville. Funeral arrangements are pending with Zwickey Funeral Homes, Galesville Chapel.
Edward ‘Mouse’ R. Kletzke
BROWNSVILLE, Minn. — Edward “Mouse” Kletzke, 77, of Brownsville died Monday, July 21, 2008, at his home.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, Brownsville. Burial in St. Patrick’s Cemetery.
Friends may call from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at Breza Hall next to St. Patrick’s Church, Brownsville, with 6:15 p.m. prayer service. Friends may also call one hour prior to the service at the church on Thursday.
McCormick Funeral Home, Caledonia is assisting the family with arrangements.
Randall Boyd Johnston
June 10, 1951 — June 8, 2008
Randall Boyd Johnston was born June 10, 1951, at Fairchild AFB, Spokane, Wash., to W. W. (Wally) and Ardis (Heiss) Johnston. He died June 8, 2008, at his home in Roy, Wash., of an enlarged heart. He was doing what he loved, restoring an old pickup — a skill he learned at Winona Area Technical School in 1969.
As the son of an Air Force officer, Randy lived in many towns, including six years in Mountain Home, Idaho. He spent a year in Winona and a year in St. Louis where he graduated from Lindbergh High School in 1969. After graduation, he returned to Winona and attended the Winona Area Technical School, where he studied auto body repair. That same year, he enlisted in the Army at the Army Reserve Center in Wabasha, Minn.
Randy relocated to the Portland, Ore., area in 1972 to work for Coliseum Ford in the Auto Body Shop. He continued his Army Reserve connection and was assigned to the 104th Division (Training), Vancouver Barracks, Vancouver, Wash. In 1985, Randy went on active duty. He served in Desert Shield/Storm in 1990-91. He was promoted to Command Sergeant Major in 1996 and served as Commandant of the NCO Academies at Ft. Chaffee, Ark., and Ft. McCoy, Wis., as well as Installation CSM at Ft. Devens, Mass. In 2001, Randy was transferred to I Corps HQs at Fort Lewis, Wash., where he remained until his retirement in July 2006 after 37 years of service.
W. W. Johnston, Professor Emeritus, Winona State University Department of Counselor Education, joined the WSU faculty in 1967. He took early retirement in 1980 to serve as a licensed consulting psychologist at the Center for Effective Living in Rochester, Minn., until retiring and moving to Portland in 1984.
Randy is survived by his father and mother, Wally and Ardis of Portland; wife, Melissa of Roy; son, Spencer (Maureen) of Troy, Mont.; son, Erik (Allison) of Sedro-Woolley, Wash.; son, Ryan and daughter Ashley of Roy; grandchildren, Keith of Longview, Wash., and Caitlin of Troy; brothers, Delvan (Sue) of Vancouver, Jerry (Beth) of Sedro-Woolley; sisters, Teresa (Rob) Oden of Northfield, Minn., Julie (Mike) Sanders of Troutdale, Ore.
A memorial service to celebrate his life is planned for today, July 23, at 1 p.m., Main Post Chapel, Fort Lewis.
William H. Rickoff Sr.
June 19, 1927 — July 21, 2008
William (Bill) Rickoff, 81, of 1316A McNally Drive, Winona, died Monday, July 21, 2008, at Watkins Manor Home, Winona. Bill was born in Mason City, Iowa, June 19, 1927, the son of John and Rose Rickoff.
He was united in marriage to Stella Malaktaris on July 25, 1948, in Mason City, at Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church.
Bill was employed in supervisory and management positions by Armour Meats in Mason City for 29 years until the plant closing in 1975. He then pursued his love of cooking in Winona, where he owned and operated Papa Johns Pizza until his retirement in 1988. After retirement, he enjoyed working for Tom Severson at Severson Oil Co. in Winona.
Bill was a member of Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church, Mason City, a life member of the Elks Lodge 327 and a member VFW Post 1287 of Winona. He served his country with the United States Marine Corps during World War II. He enjoyed cooking and helping at local fish fry fundraisers and cherished his weekly coffee with the boys’ outings with his special friends.
He is survived by his children, Kristy (Robert ) McCready of Carmel, Ind., and their children, Collin and Ryan; John (Jill) Rickoff of Carmel and their children, Jamison, Jaclyn, Jennalee and Jared; Jim (Lynda) Rickoff of Winona and their children, Tony and Nick; and William (Chris) Rickoff Jr. of Winona, and their children, Alex, John and Jenna.
Bill is also survived by his sister, Ann Bogdan of Indianapolis; three sisters in-law, Helen Pergakis of Mason City, Arita Travlos of Columbia, Mo., and Philo (James) Hettinger of Kansas City, Mo., and brothers in-law, George (Georgia) Malaktaris of Minot, N.D., and Robert Halloran of Richfield, Minn.; and many nieces and nephews.
Bill was preceded in death by his wife, Stella; parents; and two brothers, George and Pete Rickoff; and one sister, Marie (Lena) Hausauer.
Funeral services to celebrate Bill‘s life will be at 11 a.m. Thursday, July 24, at St Paul‘s Episcopal Church, Winona, with the Rev. Joseph Mirowski of Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church officiating. Interment will follow at Woodlawn Cemetery, Winona, with veterans burial rites provided by the VFW Post 1287, Winona.
Friends may call from 6 to 9 p.m. today, July 23, at Fawcett-Junker Funeral Home, 1476 W. Broadway, Winona.
Casket bearers are his grandsons, Jamison, Jared, Tony, Nick, Alex and John Rickoff, and Collin and Ryan McCready.
Memorial gifts may be directed to Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church, Mason City, or Winona VFW Club.
Services are entrusted to Fawcett-Junker Funeral Home and Cremation services of Winona. Words of sympathy and remembrance may be left at www.fawcett-junkerfuneralhome.com.
Laurence E. Grant
Feb. 26-1933 — July 20, 2008
HOLMEN, Wis. — Laurence E. Grant, 75, went to be with his Lord on Sunday, July 20, 2008, at Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center. He was born in St. Paul on Feb. 26, 1933, to Earl and Irma (Egner) Grant. Laurence served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War. On July 15, 1956, he married Joan Humphrey in Auburn, Neb.
Laurence worked as body shop manager for Ray Hutson Chevrolet for 21 years and then as general manager of the body shop for Gateway Foods and Dahl Auto Repair.
Laurence’s life revolved around his family and his Lord. He liked working on and rebuilding cars, but most of all he loved spending time with his family, especially during the holidays.
Laurence is survived by the love of his life of 52 years, Joan; four children, David (fiancee, Karen Padget) Grant of Chicago, Jolene (Ken) Hauser of Holmen, Wis., Dan (Lisa) Grant of Holmen, and Amy (Kevin) Knudtson of Onalaska, Wis.; 10 grandchildren, Laura (Brian) Stasewich, Joseph (Melinda) Grant, Brandon (Anna) Hauser, Lance “The Lumber Jack” Hauser, Grant Hauser, Jeremy Bolton, Kelsey Bolton, Emma Grant, Meghann Knudtson, and Kody Knudtson; six great-grandchildren, Elianna, Summer, Jada, Zavier, Danielle, and Lauren; four sisters, Phyllis (Gene) Lang, Helen Ebertowski, Betty (Cliff) Kanz and Joan (Sam) Sasser; four brothers, Edwin Grant, Fred (Lorraine) Grant, Bill (Judy) Grant and Bob (Bonnie) Grant; and his Donut Buddies, Rich Moen and Ron Hall.
He was preceded in death by his parents, two sisters-in-law and a brother-in-law.
Funeral services will be held today at 11 a.m. at Onalaska Church of Christ, 1415 Well Street, Onalaska. The Rever. Gordon Clary will officiate. Friends may call the church from 10 a.m. until time of service.
Dickinson Family Funeral Home and Crematory is assisting the family with arrangements.
The family would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Dr. Rabindranauth, his team and the staff at Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center for their wonderful care.
William J. Duffy
Dec. 6, 1943 — July 18, 2008
William J. Duffy “Mr. Bill,” 64, of Winona died at his home after a courageous battle with cancer.
Bill retired from the United States Army after 20 years of service. He served two tours in Vietnam, Korea, France and Germany. He was well-known throughout Winona as an avid dart player and for his culinary abilities, serving many porkchop feeds with his cooking crew of the Winona AMVETS. Bill was a very active member of American Legion Post 9, the Eagles Club Aerie 1243 and the Veterans of Foreign War Post 1287.
He was born in Winona and spent his early years in Joliet, Ill., attending Catholic schools and leaving Joliet Central High School to join the Army.
Bill was preceded in death by his father and mother, Bernard J. and Elizabeth (Snow) Duffy; and by a brother, Daniel G. (Sandra) Duffy.
He leaves behind his family that will miss him deeply; his wife, Maxine; two sons, John P. (Janine) Duffy of Pennsylvania, Gerald A. (Tammy) Duffy of Texas; stepsons, Greg (Gail) Lemmer of Winona and Nick (Kristy) Lemmer of Minneapolis; a brother-in-law, John (Judy) Keen of Winona; a sister-in-law, Phyllis Scattum of Winona; six grandchildren; Taylor, Austin, Jordan, Emily, Ryan and Kyleigh Rose; stepgrandchildren, Katie, Nathan, and Madeline Lemmer; a brother, Patrick R. Duffy of Illinois; a sister, Theresa A. Duffy of Virginia; an uncle, Robert (Cornella) Podjaski of Winona; an aunt, Patricia McGuire of Winona. Nieces, nephews, great-nieces and nephews will remember uncle Billy as the one to have a good time with. Many cousins, especially the Hennessey’s, left Bill with many fond memories.
He was a die-hard Chicago Bears fan. He was owner of Duffy’s Tap, now The Handy Corner, and then went on to retire from the Mankato Bar as a bartender. He leaves behind his many friends who no doubt will have many stories to tell for years to come.
A Celebration of Bill’s Life will be at 5 p.m. today at Hoff Funeral and Cremation Service, Hansen Goodview Chapel. Services will consist of the Rev. Thomas Hargesheimer conducting a Christian wake service. Memories of Bill’s life will then be shared, with military honors conducted by the Winona American Legion and Veterans of Foreign War Posts to conclude services. Friends may call from 3 p.m. through time of services.
A reception will follow at the Winona Veterans of Foreign War Post 1287. Burial will be in Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis. Share a memory at Bill’s online guest book and view his video tribute at www.hofffuneral.com.
Bill’s family would like to thank Winona Area Hospice for their care and magnificent organization.
