Tollef Lindem Tollefson

Herbert R. Tollefson, age 96, of Menno, S.D., passed away Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2015, at the Menno-Olivet Care Center, Menno. His funeral service was at 11 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 19, at Salem Reformed Church, Menno, with Rev. Michael Hecht officiating. Pallbearers were Jacob Tollefson, Andrew Tollefson, Ryan VanLaecken, Dale Gronhovd, Thomas Tollefson and Robert VanLaecken. Burial was at approximately 3:30 p.m., Saturday in the Restlawn Memory Gardens Cemetery, five miles south of Huron, S.D. Visitation was one hour prior to the service at the church. Military rites were by Rames-Bender American Legion Post 152, Menno. Online condolences may be sent to: Opsahl-kostelfuneralhome.com. Herb was born to Alma (Pawloski) and Rufus Tollefson in Cuthbert, S.D., near Woonsocket, S.D., April 12, 1919. In the 1920s and dirty 30s he was a fun-loving, hard-working farm boy. He and his brothers and sisters attended a country school near Cuthbert. In the early 1940s Herb was drafted into and went to fight in WWII. He was trained to be a demolitions engineer and shipped overseas soon after. He fought bravely for the USA and earned four major battle stars in Africa, Italy and Germany with the 5th Army. He experienced some amazing things and always considered himself lucky to come back in one piece. Many of his memories about the war have been recorded by his family and officially recorded from recent interviews by newscasters in Yankton and Vermillion, S.D. About the same time, Dec. 28, 1942, Herb married Mary Antonia Peta in Muskogee, Okla., and they started their family together. They had four children: Rosemary, David, Lywellyn and John. He came back from the war to his family as a master sergeant and joined the National Guard in Woonsocket. He also joined the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion and had been an active member of both for over 70 years, in Woonsocket and Menno. He was most proud of the 96 flags he gave out in Woonsocket as Post 29 Legion Chaplain for many years. Herb loved being from Woonsocket. In the 50s, Herb and Mary had their start in farming. They grew corn, alfalfa and oats and raised cattle and pigs. They started growing watermelons and muskmelons then and Herb was a melon man ever since. In the 60s, things started well, but in 1965 a car accident severely injured Mary, causing a stroke. Mary never fully recovered and passed away in 2007. This set Herb back, but he cared for her and still worked the farm and raised his children. He was a very good father and grandfather and even beloved by his children’s friends. He set a good example for everyone. He worked hard and loved to play the harmonica, making sure everyone had fun. From the 50s through the 90s, his farm prospered and his children had children. Everyone and their families came to Herb’s farm to help and to enjoy him. In the early 2000s, Herb was into his 80s and his aorta heart valve was failing. With modern medicine, it was replaced with a pig valve. It saved his life and gave him a dozen more great years, but it is that replacement valve that finally failed him now, at age 96. In 2008, Herb married his old friend through the watermelons and seed corn, Frieda Nusz of Menno. He moved to Menno and they had seven great years together. Herb loved Frieda and they had fun together. She was there with him to the end. He really enjoyed his final years with her in Menno and even his final months at the Menno home, with the caring staff who treated him very well. Herbert is survived by: his wife Frieda of Menno; children: Rosemary (Ron) VanLaecken, Watertown, S.D., Lywellyn (Cindy) Tollefson, Watertown and John (Michelle) Tollefson, Oshkosh, Wis.; eight grandchildren; 20 great-grandchildren; his beloved sister Melba Sorben, Huron; sister-in-law Nell (LaVerne), Huron; and his brother-in-law Allen Miiller (Pauline), Mt. Vernon, S.D. Herbert was preceded in death by: his first wife Mary; son David Tollefson; brothers: Lyle and LaVerne; sisters: Beulah Johnson and Pauline Miiller and his parents.