Ronald A. Sommerdorf

Obituary

Ronald “Ron” Arlett Sommerdorf was born on July 22, 1934, in Ortonville, Minnesota, to Bertram and Mildred (Waldo) Sommerdorf. Ron received Christ as his personal Savior on July 22, 1990, and was baptized. He received his education in Brownton, Minnesota, and was a graduate of the Brownton High School Class of 1952. Ron attended Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana, and then continued his education at the University of Minnesota-St. Paul Campus.

Ron entered active military service in the United States Navy on February 14, 1954, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He received an Honorable Discharge on December 12, 1957, at Patrol Squadron FIFTY, NAS, in Oak Harbor Washington, and achieved the rank of Aviation Electronics Technician Petty Officer 2nd Class.

On June 26, 1960, Ron was united in marriage to Karen M. Bergquist at St. Anthony Park Methodist Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. This marriage was blessed with four children, David, Douglas, Kathryn, and Ronald. Ron and Karen resided in rural Brownton, Minnesota. They shared 63 years of marriage.

Ron, Karen, and the children, worked as a team farming, remodeling the house and constructing livestock buildings and equipment pole sheds. He staked tile on the Alaskan Pipeline for three years. He also worked for numerous engineering firms, most notably, Reicke, Caroll, Muller out of Gaylord, Minnesota, and Ted Rickert Excavating in Brownton.

Ron was a member of Oak Heights Covenant Church in Hutchinson, Minnesota, American Legion Edward Ewald Post 143, Masons Temple Lodge #59, and the McLeod County Historical Society.

Ron was an avid reader of Zane Grey, a history buff, and enjoyed researching family genealogy. He assembled pictorials and he kept thorough, organized, and complete records. He often received calls for information concerning other history and genealogy projects. He considered opening of duck hunting a “National Holiday”. He enjoyed any card game but particularly Buck Euchre and Liars dice with his golf buddies. Ron could take items of interest, such as a piece of the Alaskan pipeline or doorknobs from the farmhouse of his youth, and make meaningful and creative gifts for family and friends. There wasn’t anything that Ron couldn’t repair or find useful. Antiquing and “being on the hunt” for vintage steel oval coin banks was a favorite pastime. When Ron traveled it was anywhere West. South Dakota Badlands, Black Hills, Montana, or Lewis and Clark Territory, and of course, breakfast at Wall Drug! Every May he would trek to Ortonville to visit relatives and pay respects at the cemetery gravesites. Along the way he would stop at what he called “the pretty place” just outside of Granite Falls, Minnesota, overlooking the Minnesota River Valley.

Spring was Ron’s favorite season, anticipating the arrival of all the new life on the farm: spotting the first robin, hearing the Meadow Lark song, watching the fireflies on a warm night, smelling the freshly turned soil, appreciating the symphony of the lake, enjoying the sunsets, sitting around a bonfire with family and friends.

Ron passed away on Wednesday, February 14, 2024 at Harmony River Living Center in Hutchinson, at the age of 89 years, after a courageous battle with Parkinson’s. Blessed be his memory.

Ron is survived by his:
Wife, Karen Sommerdorf of rural Brownton, MN;
Children, David Sommerdorf and his wife, Debra of Wasilla, AK,
Douglas Sommerdorf and his wife, Lucy of Austin, TX,
Kathryn Jennings and her husband, Paul of Winthrop, WA,
Ronald Sommerdorf and his wife, Bonnie of Fairbanks, AK,
Grandchildren; Kimberly Fesdekjian and her husband, Pierre (VA), Karen Bracewell and her husband, Matt (FL), Kevin Sommerdorf and his wife, LauraLynn (MD), Robin Sommerdorf (FL), Shondra Hackendorf and her husband, Josiah (ME), Steven Sommerdorf and his wife, Emilia (AK), Michael Sommerdorf and his wife, Harper (TX), Paul Sommerdorf and his wife, Ellen (TX), Megan Sommerdorf (TX), Madison Larsen and her husband, Maxwell (WA), Isabel Jennings (CO), William Jennings (TX), Ron Carl Sommerdorf (AK);
18 Great-grandchildren;
Brother, Charles Sommerdorf and his wife, Sandra of Brownton, MN;
Sister-in-law, Susan Lemke and her husband, Lyle of Rochester, MN;
Brother-in-law, George Bergquist and his wife, Denise of Princeton, MN;
Many Cousins, Nieces, Nephews, and other relatives and friends.

Ron is preceded in death by his Parents, Bertram and Mildred Sommerdorf; Sister Janet Brunberg and her husband, Sven.