Swanson Peterson Funeral Home

Larry Merdell Engelstad, age 86, passed away on November 20th. He was born November 4, 1934, in Moorhead, MN to Lars and Synneva (Gunderson) Engelstad. He lived in Moorhead and then Ashby, MN. He graduated from Ashby High School in 1952. Larry joined the Navy serving from 1953-1957. After he got out of service he attended North Dakota State University in Fargo, ND, graduating in 1961. After a year of graduate studies, he moved to Howard Lake, MN where he began teaching mathematics. He taught there for 30 years retiring in 1992.
On July 12, 1958, he married Ruth Ysteboe in Pontoppidan Lutheran Church in Fargo. They have had 62 years together.
After retirement Larry & Ruth spent the winter months for two years exploring places in the south. They settled on Park Place Estates in Harlingen, Tx, and have spent 25 winters there.
Larry is survived by his wife, Ruth; sons Steve, Richard (Laura), Gary (Sherree) and Loren (Janel); grandchildren Kristen, Megan, Sara, Carson, Kayla, Ashley, Brandon & Jayden and several great-grandchildren and one brother, Robert.
He was preceded in death by his parents, two brothers (Sidney & Gene) one sister (Doris) sister-in laws (Luverne, Gini, Alyce) and one brother-in–law (Russell Olsen).
A memorial service will be held at 11:00 AM on Wednesday, November 25, 2020 at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Howard Lake, MN. Military honors will immediately follow the service. Arrangements by Swanson-Peterson Funeral Home & Cremation Services of Howard Lake, 320-543-3401, www.swansonpeterson.com

Roepke, Elaine Matilda
age 92, of Cokato passed away on November 17, 2020 at the Cokato Manor. She was born in Chaska, MN on June 16, 1928 to Henry and Lydia (Morchen) Schwalbe. Elaine worked on assembly at Tonka Toys and making watches at Nortronix in Dassel, MN. She was a farm wife to Ardell and had 6 children. She enjoyed flowers, gardening, fishing, camping, vacationing, playing cards and going to the casino. Later in life, she enjoyed activities at the manor, where she would volunteer.
Elaine is preceded in death by her parents, husband, Ardell, children, Roger, Kenneth, and Diana.
Survived by her children, Sheldon Roepke, Allan (Mavis) Roepke, and Susan Zeidler, daughters in-law, Ethel and Shirley Roepke, along with several grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, relatives and friends.
A celebration of Elaine’s life will be held at a later date. Arrangements by Swanson-Peterson Funeral Home & Cremation Services of Cokato & Howard Lake, MN www.swansonpeterson.com 320-286-2534

Dale Henry Goodpaster, age 56 of Howard Lake, MN passed away at his home on November 12, 2020. He was born on November 25, 1963 to Larry and Delores (Illies) Goodpaster. Dale served in the United States Army from 1982-1989. He enjoyed hunting, fishing and mushroom hunting.
He is preceded in death by his parents.
Dale is survived by his daughter, Natascha (Christian) Eickhoff of Warstein, Germany, 2 grandchildren, Julius and Carlotta, sister, Lisa (Jerome) Sopkowiak of Cokato, MN, brother, Scott of Brookings, SD, nieces, Ashley and Caitlyn Sopkowiak.
A graveside service will be held at 10:00 AM on Saturday, November 28, 2020 at Cokato City Cemetery. A celebration of Dale’s life will be held at a later date.
Arrangements by Swanson-Peterson Funeral Home & Cremation Services of Cokato & Howard Lake, MN 320-286-2534 www.swansonpeterson.com

Christian John Leinonen, age 56 of Howard Lake, MN passed away peacefully at home on Monday, November 9, 2020. He was born February 12, 1964 in Minneapolis, MN to Daniel and Judy (Giertz) Leinonen. Chris was baptized and confirmed at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Buffalo, MN. In 1982, he graduated from Dassel-Cokato High School. Chris always loved his automobiles, and had numerous “babies” throughout his life, but his pride and joy was his ‘70 Dodge Challenger. Having met at the Norseman where he downed copious amounts of coffee, he was united in marriage to Bobbi Kratz on September 23, 1989. Together they had two daughters, Kailee and Brittany, who brought them unbridled love and infinite joy. Starting out, Chris did farm work, and then transitioned to being a “tire guy” for Cenex. For the majority of his working career, Chris worked as a well-respected and trusted dock supervisor for Quast, which became Vitran, which became Central Transport; he didn’t get the nickname “Smooth/Smoothie” for nothing! While working at Quast, Chris met Brenda. After doing a lot of behind-the-scenes leg work, Chris convinced Brenda that they should date. After two years, Chris and Brenda planned a trip to Las Vegas, Nevada, and were united in marriage at the “We’ve Only Just Begun” chapel at the Imperial Palace on September 28, 1998. On this trip, and several others over the years, they saw the sights, rode roller coasters, and enjoyed each other’s company.

Chris will forever be remembered as a loving, funny, mischievous kid at heart. He wasn’t above a dad joke (or several), and always strove to lighten the mood and make others laugh. He felt most free playing around outside with the guys and his “big boy toys,” be that a snowmobile, motorcycle, four-wheeler, car/truck, or a remote-controlled tank or helicopter. Chris was an avid NASCAR fan; he and Brenda attended races at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Darlington, and Michigan. Perhaps it was destiny given he shares a birthday with President Lincoln, but Chris was an avid history buff, particularly in the realms of WWII, military ships, and planes. If he wasn’t watching the History Channel, he’d likely have on the SyFy channel, as he loved everything from Ancient Aliens to Star Trek. He subjected Brenda to hours of history channel series, documentaries, and too many sci-fi flicks to name. Chris’s other delights and hobbies included target shooting, attending Twins games, cruises, saunas (he built one in his basement!), and spending time motorcycling and BS’ing with the guys. He loved music, particularly Kiss and Garth Brooks, and he and Brenda attended numerous concerts to see each.

Chris is preceded in death by: his grandparents, Hans and Helen Giertz, and Emil and Rauha Leinonen; his father, Daniel Leinonen, and father in-law, Leland Saxton; aunts and uncles Marian and Marv Maki, Lloyd Drawert, Ed Groop, Kathy Leinonen, and Ellie Alvey; cousins Daven Drawert and Gerald Leinonen.
Chris is survived by: his wife, Brenda; children, Kailee Leinonen-Wright (Will Wright) and Brittany Leinonen (fiancé Noah Lintelman Chapman); his mother, Judy (Lee) Anders; his brother, Tim; his beloved kitty, Xenia; several other relatives and numerous friends. A gathering of family and friends will take place at Swanson-Peterson Funeral Home in Howard Lake on Friday, Nov. 13 from 4 to 7 p.m. www.swansonpeterson.com 320-543-3401

Rodney John Liepold (1935-2020)
Our hero, Rodney John Liepold, went to his heavenly home on October 29, 2020, after a courageous battle against cancer.
Rodney John Liepold was born in Heron Lake, MN, on April 9, 1935, to Al and Florence (Nemmers) Liepold. He attended county school in District 44 for two years, parochial school for six years, and graduated from Heron Lake High School in 1954.
He served our country in the U.S. Army starting in 1955 as a tank driver, and was discharged in 1957, spending 18 months in Germany.
He married his beautiful bride, Theresa Heutinck, in 1967. They farmed in Heron Lake for several years, until moving to a hobby farm in Cokato in 1974. He was employed at Rickwell Furniture in Cokato, Lester Building Systems of Lester Prairie, and retired from Dura Supreme in Howard Lake in 1998.
Rod enjoyed hunting, fishing, spearing, gardening, old hot rods, wood working and loved his man’s best friend Katie. Our fondest memories of him are an Alaskan fishing trip he took with his sons, elk hunting in Colorado with his brother, a family trip to Europe, camping trips with the family and teaching his children how to farm, garden, raise animals, ride horses and 3-wheelers. He will be remembered as a faithful Christian, a fighter who didn’t give up, a humble man, his hard work ethic and most of all his unconditional love for his wife, children and grandchildren.
He was a member of the Catholic Order of Foresters of Winsted, the American Legion #209 of Cokato, and was a member of St. John’s Catholic Church in Darwin.
Survivors include his wife Theresa and four children, John Liepold of Dassel, Alan (Lara) Liepold of Hutchinson, Lori (Mark) Bruns of Utah, and Lisa Bohnsack of Jordan; six grandchildren Kody (Mollie), Hannah, Brooke, Tyler, Lukas and Bryce; sister Marilyn Bush and brother Don (Mary) Liepold. He was proceeded in death by his parents.
Visitation will be held at Swanson-Peterson Funeral Home in Cokato on Wednesday, Nov. 4th from 4:00-8:00 pm and a funeral service with military honors will be held at St. John’s Catholic Church in Darwin on Thursday, Nov. 5th at 2:00 pm with visitation 1 hour prior to services at church. Casket bearers will be Steve Liepold, Mike Liepold, Mat Wozniak, Scott Wozniak, Brian Pelzel, and Steve Householder.
The Liepold family would like to thank their family, friends, and Rod’s caregivers and hospice team for their love, support and prayers.