Horace Haugen

Horace A. "Russ" Haugen, age 90, of Faribault died Saturday, January 31, 2009 at St. Lucas Care Center in Faribault.             Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Wednesday, February 4, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. at the Divine Mercy Catholic Church, at Immaculate Conception in Faribault. Interment will be held at the Calvary Cemetery, Faribault, with military honors conducted by the Rice County Central Veterans Association.             Visitation will be held at the Parker Kohl Funeral Home in Faribault on Tuesday from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. and at the church on Wednesday for one hour prior to services. The family will recite the rosary on Tuesday evening at 7:45 p.m.             Russ was born at home on the family farm about eight miles north east of Kenyon, MN, on January 16, 1919 to Nels and Minnie (Anderson Bonhus) Haugen. He was part of a large blended family with three brothers, three half brothers and two half sisters. According to Russ's memoirs, "As far as I can remember, my first years were happy enough. We raised our own meat, eggs and poultry and sold grain and cream for cash money to buy clothes and other things we needed." Russ graduated from Kenyon High School, went on to attend the Cannon Fall Teacher Training College and then taught in a rural classroom. He married Marie Irene Joachim, whom he met at the College, on February 28, 1942 just before he left to serve in World War II.             Russ was a technical Sergeant in the 1st Armored Division of General Patton's 3rd Army. He was part of the crew responsible for retrieving damaged tanks from the battlefields of Africa and Anzio Beach, Italy and returning them to service. When the War ended, Russ and Marie lived briefly in California where he was employed by General Motors Corporation. Feeling homesick for the Midwest, the couple returned to Faribault and began to raise a family of four girls and three boys. For over thirty years, Russ worked as the service manager at Lockwood Auto Company and spent most mornings before work with friends and co-workers at Wimpy's Restaurant where he invariably had two eggs over easy and one cup of coffee with cream and sugar. Following retirement and unable to stay away from the automotive industry, he continued to work part-time at Harry Brown's.             Russ loved the countryside and wanted to give his children a chance to enjoy the freedom and self-sufficiency of the rural lifestyle he had enjoyed in his childhood. So in 1961 he and Marie moved the family to a farm near Cedar Lake where he raised his beloved sheep for wool and meat and farmed grain crops. When the children had grown up and left home, Russ and Marie sold the farm and moved back into Faribault, living on 9th Avenue SW and later at Trail's Edge Apartments. After Marie passed away and Russ's health deteriorated, he spent the last four years of his life at St. Lucas Care Center. He often commented on the good care and love that he received from the staff. He also appreciated the visits, ongoing support and weekly laundry service he received from two of his daughters, Karen and Beverly.             Russ was a quiet, stoical Norwegian-American who lived through a number of significant losses, including the deaths of two sons, with dignity and reserve. He seldom raised his voice and indulged his children as much as he was able. A member of "The Greatest Generation", Russ taught his children to value hard work, to live with integrity and to love the beauty of rural Minnesota. He also taught his children how to raise crops and vegetables, use hand and power tools, drive tractors, milk cows, birth lambs and dock their tails. Russ loved anything with an engine and was famous for his mechanical expertisea�"he could diagnose most automotive problems with just a road test. He loved his sons-in-law and would light up whenever he had the chance to see them and tell a few 'Ole and Lena' jokes or discuss their latest car issues.             Before his eyesight failed him, he spent many hours in his woodworking shop creating lamps, cup holder trees and various other household items from different types of wood, which he then gave away to family and friends. He was a devoted Catholic who attended Mass regularly and finished each day saying the Rosary. Throughout his life, Russ was always appreciative of the small thingsa�"a smile, a phone call, a gentle helping handa�"and never failed to express his thanks and gratitude. He will be greatly missed.               He is survived by five children, Julie (Steve) Scofield of Enumclaw, WA, Karen Winslow of Faribault, Beverly Haugen of Faribault, Gregory (LuAnn) Haugen of Flandreau, SD and Valerie (Tony) Willenberg of Sydney, Australia; by 15 grandchildren and 16 great grandchildren, nieces, nephews and other relatives and friends.             He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, two sons, Curtis and Brian, siblings, Art, Juil, Marie, Clarence, Eva, Kenneth and Millard and two sons in law, Don Winslow and Dave Heine.     .