Funeral services for 81-year-old Dennis Henry Ratzlaff of Mountain Lake, Minnesota, will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Monday morning, November 20, 2017, at the Alliance Missionary Church in Mountain Lake. The church is located at 809 5th Avenue.
Interment will be in the Cornerstone Cemetery (formerly Evangelical Mennonite Brethren Cemetery) in rural Mountain Lake, located on the west side of 570th Avenue, south of 360th Street and north of 10th Street/Cottonwood County Road #29.
Visitation will be on Sunday, November 19, 2017, from 3 p.m to 5 pm. at Sturm Funeral Home-Mountain Lake Chapel. The funeral home is located at 420 10th Street North. A second visitation will be at the church the day of the funeral from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Online condolences to the family may be sent to: www.sturmfh.com.
Sturm Funeral Home-Mountain Lake Chapel, is handling the arrangements.
Dennis Ratzlaff passed away on Tuesday, November 14, 2017, at the Good Samaritan Society of Mountain Lake-The Village.
Dennis Henry Ratzlaff was born in Mountain Lake on February 16, 1936, the son of Henry and Sara Ratzlaff. Dennis grew up in Mountain Lake, attending the Christian Day School and graduating from Mountain Lake Public School in 1954. He was baptized upon confession of his faith in Jesus Christ, at the Evangelical Mennonite Brethren (EMB) Church (today, Cornerstone Bible Church) in Mountain Lake, where he sang in choir and various quartets. After graduation Dennis attended Grace Bible Institute in Omaha, Nebraska for one semester before returning to Mountain Lake to work for Land O’Lakes.
On January 17, 1959, Dennis was united in marriage to Faye Dodge at the EMB Church. Dennis joined 1W service and the couple moved to Reedley, California where he was a cook at Kingsview Hospital in Reedley. In 1961, the couple returned to Mountain Lake, where Dennis was employed at the Co-op Creamery, and later returned to Land O’Lakes to work in the plant. While employed there he got a job driving a farm bulk truck picking up milk from area farmers. After much hard work he got a promotion and began driving semi, picking up milk from other Land O’Lakes plants. After hours, for extra money, he hauled grain to grain terminals in Mankato, Minnesota and Savage, Minnesota for area farmer, Marvin Nickel.
Approximately in 1979, Dennis was hired by Marten Transport as an over-the-road truck driver, where he worked for nearly 30 years. He received the “Million Mile” award for safe driving. He actually drove over two million miles – with no accidents – while employed there. Our family has many fond memories of dad driving for Marten.
After retirement he worked for Fast Sprayers, then of Mountain Lake, hauling equipment to dealers and hauling grain during harvest. He enjoyed working for Fast, and because of this, the employees there were treated many times to Faye’s good cookin’!
In his free time he enjoyed fishing and riding motorcycle. He cherished his time with family, his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He and Faye enjoyed eating out together and with friends. Dad also enjoyed his time with the “guys” at the pool hall or eating breakfast or coffee time at the Hometown Café or Cenex in Mountain Lake.
Left to cherish his memory are his wife, Faye Ratzlaff; children, Kevin (Michelle) Ratzlaff, Patrick (Jenna) Ratzlaff and Michelle (Martin) Quintero; grandchildren, Krystie, Travis, Isaac, Josiah, Cody and April; great-grandchildren, Madison, Hunter, Kyle, Hayden and Finn; siblings, Willard Ratzlaff, Darlene (Duane) Bixel, Pauline (Don) Friesen, Dorothy Ratzlaff, Rose (Reese) Johnson and Ron (June) Ratzlaff; sister-in-law, Elaine Ratzlaff; uncle, Abe (Myrtle) Schultz and aunt, Irene Schultz, along with many nieces, nephews and cousins.
He was preceeded in death by infant daughter, Linda Ratzlaff; his parents and brothers-in-law, John Ratzlaff and Milton Ratzlaff.