Orville E. Diepold

Obituary

Orville was born in Penn Township, Minnesota. His parents were Joseph and Emma Diepold. He was one of 5 children. He went to school through the 8th grade and then eventually went into the United States Army. He was a Private E-2 rifle marksman. He served in the Army for a little over 2 years and was honorably discharged.

Orville lived in Brownton, Minnesota for many years where he made lots of friends and enjoyed his neighbors. He could be a quiet reserved man but he sure valued a good conversation and especially the opportunity to give someone a hard time with his sarcasm! During those years in Brownton, he stayed very busy doing the one thing he loved……Farming. Orville literally lived to farm. In fact, if he wasn’t actually farming, he was either checking the weather for farming or talking about farming. He taught us all about the Farmer’s Almanac and could tell you what the weather was going to do better than the Channel 5 news. One of his proud accomplishments was that he had farmed for 50 years. 50 years is a big deal for an “Old Fart”! (He always laughed being called that) He also loved helping take care of things at his brother’s farm like feeding the cats or any other chores.

Orville could never miss the Heatwole Thrashing Show or the Orange Spectacular. This was an annual event that he looked forward to going to as long as he was able. He loved visiting with people and checking out all of the tractors. If you wanted to find Orville during the winter months, all you had to do was go to Cash Wise before noon. He and his comrades would be there holding down their favorite booth, having coffee or an egg sandwich and giving the kitchen staff and many others “somethin’ to talk about” with their witty comments and smart remarks to get a good laugh. Some called Orville “Smiley” because he loved to respond with one.

After years of Orville saying he was going to retire from farming, he finally did. At that point, I think Cash Wise ran out of free coffee!! If he wasn’t having coffee, out driving through town or stopping at the bank to chat with folks or the co-op to check on business, you might find him mowing the lawn, picking up sticks or sitting in the shade on a beautiful day. After retirement, he made the BIG move to Hutchinson to be closer to his favorite places and people. He was happy to be closer to Cash Wise!

When it came to holidays, there were two required dishes …. Cooked carrots and the famous cream peas. Orville ate like a bird but if there were cream peas, he was happy for weeks! Speaking of food, Kwik Trip’s bakery was kept busy too because Orville would buy Oatmeal Raisin cookies as fast as they could bake them! In fact, one person referred to him as Cookie Monster when they would see him!

Orville was a proud veteran of the United States Army. He kept his hat among other items on display and even wore it for a few photos. He bonded with many others who served as well. We thank Orville for his service.

With our sadness in the loss of Orville also comes a sense of peace. Peace knowing that he will be in a better place to reunite with his family and many great friends and definitely a never-ending supply of “Schnickers”. We are thankful that we were gifted Orville’s time with us, his friendship and darn good humor! We will miss the smart remarks and staple commentary followed by a smirk.

Orville is survived by his brother Everette Diepold (Billie) and their family, as well as his honorary family Shelley Schmidt (Mike) and their family, Charlene Dale (Ryan) and their family, Shannon Dale (Brent), and Natalie Lang (Mitch) and their family and his good friend John Ludowese. He is also survived by many friends and neighbors.

Orville was preceded in death by his parents Joseph and Emma Diepold, Siblings, George Diepold, Delores Diepold, Jerome Diepold and many many good friends.  May he be with them now.