Harold F. Oelfke, 87, of Arlington
Harold F. Oelfke, 87, of Arlington, died Saturday, Feb. 24, 2018, at the Sibley Ridgeview Medical Center in Arlington.
Funeral services will be held Friday, March 2, at 11 a.m., at Emanuel Lutheran Church in Hamburg. Visitation will be Thursday, March 1, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., at the Kolden Funeral Home in Arlington, and will continue Friday one hour prior to the service at the church. Interment will be in the Emanuel Lutheran Cemetery, Hamburg.
Harold Friedrich Oelfke was born Nov. 15, 1930, in rural Hamburg, to Herbert and Frieda (Neske) Oelfke. He was baptized Nov. 23, 1930, at Emanuel Lutheran Church in Hamburg, and was confirmed there in his Lutheran faith on April 2, 1944.
He was a 1949 graduate of Glencoe High School. He served his country in the U.S. Army and was a Korean War veteran.
On Jan. 24, 1954, he married Betty Dammann at Emanuel Lutheran Church. The couple lived in Hamburg for one year after their marriage and then moved to Waconia by Goose Lake, where they lived for six years before moving back to the home farm in rural Hamburg. They lived there until 1979, when they moved to Arlington. Mr. Oelfke was both a farmer and an insurance agent during his working years. He was a lifelong, faithful member of Emanuel Lutheran Church. He served the church as an elder and also was a member of the men’s choir. He loved to golf, fish, travel and play cards.
He is survived by his wife, Betty Oelfke, of Arlington; children, Wayne (Joyce) Oelfke of Shorewood, Douglas (Carol) Oelfke of Osakis, Brian (Kathleen) Oelfke of Hamburg and Gail (Robert) Thomes of Arlington; grandchildren, Shannon (Joe) Aurich, Dana (Jake) Cavanaugh, Brenna (Steve) Kruger, Adam (Amy) Oelfke, Angela (Ryan) Mesenbring, Aaron Oelfke, Sarah Kluseman, Kelli Oelfke, Nina Hammer, Jamie (Kirby) Weckworth, Ashley (Max) Eckberg, Jordan Thomes (fiancé JC); stepgrandchildren, Shannon Reilly Kreger (fiancé Jesse) and Brenda (Sara) Reilly; great-grandchildren, Whytnee, Kya, Seth and Jonah Aurich, John Wayne Cavanaugh, Halden Oelfke, Kayla and Dylan Mesenbring, Ariah, Lia and Nolan Oelfke, Ashton and Colton Kluseman, Maisy, Elsie and Brooks Weckworth, and Ava Eckberg; stepgreat-grandchildren, Rylie and Sydney Kreger, and Marissa, Ben, Jenna and Owen Reilly; sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law, Ruth Kruschke of Glencoe, Virginia (Ruben) Ernst of Glencoe and Muriel (Loren) Zieroth of Waconia.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Herbert and Frieda Oelfke; parents-in-law, Herbert and Clara Dammann; sister and brother-in-law, Shirley (Melvin) Kroells; and brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, Harold and Agnes Dammann, Verona and Arthur Bussmann, Herman Schmidt, Ruben Kruschke and Loren Dammann.
