Raymond Pommerenke

Raymond W. Pommerenke, age 88 of Waseca, passed away Friday, January 11, 2013 at Rakhma Homes' Joy House in St. Paul. A memorial service honoring Ray will be held Monday, March 18th at Faith United Methodist Church in Waseca. Family will greet friends from 9:00 A.M. to 11:00 A.M. at the church. The service will begin at 11:00 A.M. with Pastor Victor Waters officiating. All are invited to lunch following the service. McRaith Funeral Home of Waseca is assisting the family with funeral arrangements.

Raymond William Pommerenke was born on January 4th, 1925, in Good Thunder, MN, the only child of William Otto Pommerenke and Martha Auguste (Remund) Pommerenke. The family resided in Good Thunder, MN, until Raymond was nine years old when his father passed away from a chronic illness. Ray spent his remaining youth living with his mother and extended family on the Remund family farm in Blooming Grove Township, Waseca County. He attended rural school there, graduating from Waseca Central High School in 1943.

Ray married Gloria LaVonne Kanne on April 7th, 1951, at the Methodist Parsonage in Northfield, MN. The marriage was the end of a seven year courtship and the beginning of 61 years together at their home on Eighth Street Southeast in Waseca.

Ray developed a love of fixing and building things, utilizing his skills in a variety of jobs at Buckley Appliance, Chevrolet Appliance and Garage, Bird's Eye Foods, and Buland's Plumbing and Heating, all in Waseca; and Minnesota Valley Action Council in Mankato. He ran his own appliance repair service in Waseca for over 35 years, often being fondly referred to by his customers as "the man who could fix anything". Neighbors and friends could count on Ray to help them out with anything from mechanical issues, to shoe repair, to tree felling.

Ray also enjoyed the out-of-doors; especially hunting pheasant, gardening, and taking family camping trips around the U.S. He served on the Methodist Church building committee and City of Waseca Planning Commission. He was a member of the Waseca chapter of MADD, the Waseca Garden Club, and Faith United Methodist Church.

Following heart surgery in 1999, Ray experienced 13 years of declining memory and cognitive ability. He passed away on January 11, 2013 at age 88. Ray was preceded in death by his father in 1934 and his mother in 1981. He is survived by his wife Gloria of Waseca; daughter Brenda Pommerenke and son-in-law Larry George of Arlington, VA; daughter Lori Pommerenke of Waseca; and four grandchildren, Samuel George of Norfolk, VA; Christer George and Isabel George of Arlington, VA; and Celina Pommerenke Zamula of Waseca, MN.