Earl D Struss

GRANADA - A Memorial Service for Earl D. Struss, 81, of Granada, will be 10:30 a.m. Monday, Jan. 17, 2011, at Lakeview Funeral Home in Fairmont, with inurnment at a later date. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service at the Lakeview Funeral Home. Earl passed away on Friday morning, Jan. 14, 2011, at Fairmont Medical Center.

Earl Dean Struss was born Dec. 14, 1929, in East Chain Township, the son of John and Hattie (Sieburg) Struss. He attended East Chain School and later joined the U.S. Air Force in 1950.

On Aug. 21, 1954, Earl was united in marriage to Alice Dontje in Fairmont. They lived in Blue Earth, Imogene and then 42 years on their farm in rural Granada. The couple shared 56 years of marriage together.

After an honorable discharge from the Air Force, Earl worked at Kuyper Implement in Blue Earth. He later worked for 37 years at Fairmont Railway Motors as a foreman until his retirement in 1991. Earl was an active member of the Granada United Methodist Church until it closed, and was most recently a member of East Chain Methodist Church. He enjoyed farming, working on machinery and doing jigsaw and crossword puzzles.

Earl is survived by his wife, Alice, of Granada; sons, Perry (Susan) and Brian (Ann), all of Fairmont; grandchildren, Jason, Andy (Britta), Andrea and Kristin Struss, and John and Sara Duderstadt; great grandchildren, Isabella, Coral and Alex; sisters, Hattie Simser, of Blue Earth, Kathleen Klein of California; sister-in-law, Rosie Struss, of Pine City; mother-in-law, Andrea Walvoord; brothers-in-law, Harvey (Barb) Dontje, and David Schneider; and sister-in-law, Janet (Gary) Parno; many nieces and nephews.

Along with his parents, John and Hattie Struss, Earl was preceded in death by his fathers-in-law, Dick Dontje and Ervin Walvoord; sister-in-law, Linda Schneider; 10 brothers, and four sisters