A Mass of Christian Burial for 74-year-old Richard A. Veenker of Windom, Minnesota, will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday morning, June 18, 2016 at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Jackson, Minnesota, with Father James Seitz officiating. The church is located at 311 Sverdrup Avenue South.
Burial will take place immediately following the service at Good Shepherd Catholic Cemetery in Jackson.
A visitation will take place on Friday, June 17, 2016 at the Good Shepherd Catholic Church from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., with a Rosary Service at 4:30 p.m. A second visitation will be held at the church the day of the funeral service from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Richard A. Veenker passed away at his home on Sunday, June 12, 2016.
Osterberg Funeral Home of Jackson is handling the services.
Richard “Dick” Arthur Veenker, the son of Arthur and Doris (Smith) Veenker, was born on June 7, 1942 in Jackson, Minnesota. As a child, he attended Windom Public Schools. After school, Richard began working at Toro, where he worked as a forklift operator until his retirement in 2000 after 39 years.
On April 11, 1964, he was united in marriage to Alice Olson, and together they had three children. The couple made their home in Windom, until Alice passed away in 1996.
On May 2, 1998 Richard was united in marriage to Katherine Whisney at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Jackson. After marriage the couple lived in Windom.
Richard was a longtime member of St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Windom, until he transferred his membership to the Church of the Good Shepherd in Jackson after his marriage to Katherine.
Richard was an avid hockey fan, including coaching and refereeing girls hockey in Windom. He was also a motor head, as he loved racing motorcycles, watching races at the Jackson Speedway, working on his own cars in his garage, NASCAR, outlaw racing and even owned his own sprint car. Richard was also a collector of John Deere memorabilia, a player of the card game 500 and a huge fan of the Chinese Buffet in Fairmont.
Richard is survived by his wife of 18 years, Katherine, of Windom; his daughter, Sarah Veenker of Windom; his two sons, Shawn Veenker of Windom and Shane Veenker of Bemidji, Minnesota; his granddaughter, Shelby Veenker, Windom; a sister, Pat Thorton of Port Hope, Ontario, Canada; two brothers, Tom (Harriet) Veenker of Aitkin, Minnesota and Ronnie (Cathie) Veenker of Bingham Lake, Minnesota; as well as five sisters-in-law, two brothers in law and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents; his first, wife Alice; a brother, Gerald; an infant sister, Jean Marie; a nephew, Randy Veenker and two brothers-in-law.
