Sylvester Emge

Sylvester B. Emge, age 87, of Faribault, died Saturday, March 14, 2009 at the Pleasant Manor Nursing Home in Faribault.             Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Tuesday, March 17, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. at the Divine Mercy Catholic Church at St. Lawrence in Faribault. Interment will be at the St. Lawrence Cemetery in Faribault.             Visitation will be held at the Parker Kohl Funeral Home in Faribault on Monday from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. and on Tuesday for one hour prior to the services at the church.             Sylvester Bernard Emge was born at the family farm home in Wells Township, Rice County to Bernard G. and Mary (Brandenburger) Fliegel Emge on September 20, 1921. He attended country school at District 57 for 8 years. His mother died when he was 12 years. After finishing school, he, his father and half brother continued to live at the farm. In 1940 he took over management of the farm. On September 2, 1948 he married Dorothy M. Degen at St. Lawrence Catholic Church in Faribault. In 1952 he and Dorothy took over ownership of the farm where they lived for 61 years. Sylvester had a strong feeling about farm Co-Ops and as a member he served as a voting delegate for G.T.A., now Harvest States Co-Op as well as for Central Livestock in South St. Paul. He was a member and director of Rice County Pork Producers, Rice County Shipping Assn., and Steele-Waseca Electric Co-Op for 12 years for District 7. After the Co-Op redistricted in 1995, he was asked to serve in District 1 for 8 months to set up the new District until the annual meeting in June of 1996. As a director of Steele-Waseca, he was their voting delegate many times reporting back to the board members of the Co-Op. He was a lifetime member of St. Lawrence and Divine Mercy Catholic Church where he served as an usher and was a member of the P.T.A board at St. Lawrence School for 1 year and 1 year at B.A. as part of that P.T.A board. He was a blood donor and a member of the Farm Bureau. He and Dorothy served as a team to deliver Meals-On-Wheels and were 4H leaders for many years. They belonged to Catholic Aid Assn. and he was a member of the Faribault Council Knights of Columbus.             He is survived by his wife, Dorothy; two daughters, Anna Marie (Ronald) Rosival of Lonsdale and Diane (Tom) Iacarella of Sioux Falls, SD; 7 grandchildren; 11 great grandchildren; sister Dolores Guptill of Sedona, AZ; and many nieces, nephews and other relatives and friends.             He was preceded in death by his parents; half brother, Martin Fliegel; sisters, Anna Stigsell, Elizabeth Carpenter, Dorothy Whetsel, and half sister, Mary Becker.