George Lupkes, Jr.

George O. Lupkes of Wheaton, passed away Friday, December 28, 2007 at the Traverse Care Center in Wheaton, Minnesota. George was 89 years old. Funeral Services for George will be held Wednesday, January 2, 2008 at 11:00 AM at the Bethlehem Covenant Church in Wheaton with Pastor Tim Shekleton officiating. Visitation will be held Tuesday, January 1, 2008 at the church from 5:00 PM until 8:00 PM and 1 hour prior to services Wednesday, January 2nd, at the church. Georges grandsons will be his pallbearers: Alan Doll, Mark Wagner, Adam Reiter, Joel Reiter, Ryan Anderson, Aaron Julson, Ryan Lupkes, and Erik Schmitz. The staff of the Traverse Care Center will be the Honorary Pallbearers. Interment will be at Wildwood Cemetery in Wheaton, Minnesota. George O. Lupkes Jr. was born May 4th, 1918 to George and Jennie (Barkhoff) Lupkes in Grundy County, Iowa. He was baptized August 10, 1924 in Dike, Iowa. The family moved to rural Wheaton in 1928. George attended Country School until the 8th grade. He served in the Army in World War II. Some of his decorations include Good Conduct Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Theater Ribbon, W/1 Silver Battle Star, 1 Service Stripe, 3 Overseas Service Bars. He was honorably discharged in October of 1945. On November 3, 1945 he married Dorothy W. Johnson. They lived and farmed 4 miles East of Wheaton from 1947 to 1973 and then moved to Wheaton. When George was in his late 60s he started building a log cabin on Big Stone Lake. He spent many hours of labor on the place he loved so much and enjoyed with his family and friends. George also loved to fish and hunt. For many years he would look forward to his deer-hunting trip to Little Fork, Minnesota so he could spend time with his brothers, the Johnson boys and many friends. George especially enjoyed gardening for over 70 years. George and Dorothy traveled for many years after retirement. Their favorite place in the winter was Hawaii. He was known for his hard work ethic, being an honest man, a good father and husband. He was very proud to be an American Veteran. George was member of Bethlehem Covenant Church and the American Legion. George is survived by his wife Dorothy, 12 children: Lavonne (Thomas) Doll of Darwin, MN, Kathleen (Daniel) Wagner of Prior Lake, MN, Katherine Rabel of LaMesa, CA, Janel (Curtis) Reiter of Darwin, MN, Lyle (Margaret) Lupkes of Wheaton, MN, Linette Lupkes of Anchorage, AK, Doreen (Thomas) Sherwood, Twin Falls, ID, Jone (Doyle) Anderson of Morris, MN, Cheryl (Glenn) Garcia of Honolulu, HI, Dawn Julson of Wheaton, MN, Joetta (Todd) Schmitz of Wheaton, MN, Jacqueline (Bruce) Strader of Wheaton, MN. Twenty"six grandchildren: Alan (Michelle) Doll, Renae (Joshua) Kane, Mark (Ruth)Wagner, Tamera (Ray) Ehlers, Adam (Jennifer), Joel, and Emily Reiter, Ryan, Celeste, George, and Samuel Lupkes, Laura and Carl Warnock, Adriel (Cameron) Cook, Phillip Sherwood, Leah (Clark) Hendrickson, Ryan Anderson, Aaron (Jenny) and Shea Julson, Erik, Reed, and Luke Schmitz, Tyler, Grant, Cullen and Carra Strader, 9 great grandchildren: Damon Doll, Kaitlin and Luke Kane, Taylor and Savannah Ehlers, Nolan and Emmett Reiter, Parker and Maddox Hendrickson, 5 Sisters: Tillie Koci and Jeanette Olson both of Wheaton, Irene Kaul of Rochester, MN, Francis (Earl) Borsheim of Wheaton, Mary (Fritz) Mueller of Madison, MN, 2 brothers: Oscar (Merlita) Lupkes , Elmer (Dorothy) Lupkes, all of Wheaton. George was preceded in death by his parents, brothers: Fred and Ole Lupkes, sisters: Christina Hernvall, Hilka Schmidtke, son-in-law: Victor Rabel, grandson: Mitchell Doll, brother and sister-in-law: Lloyd and Violet Johnson.

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