Edwin Roeder

Edwin “Ed” Roeder, age 93, of Ortonville, MN,  passed away on February 26, 2021, at Fairway View Neighborhoods in Ortonville.

Services for Ed are currently pending.

While maintaining social distancing guidelines, we are now able to accommodate gatherings of up to 250 people. The use of face masks by attendees is required, and we will continue taking the necessary steps to keep our facility clean. For those who prefer or require continued precautions, webcasting and/or livestreaming is available in most situations.

Edwin John Roeder was born April 16, 1927, in Swift County, MN. He attended country school through the eighth grade. Ed later attended Dunwoody Institute in Minneapolis. When Ed was 16 years old, he was employed by a company from Aberdeen, SD, harvesting ice blocks out of the lake.  The blocks were used for coolant for the “ice box” refrigerator.  Ed slipped and fell into the path of the circulation ice-cutting saw. Ed’s legs were seriously injured, requiring a lengthy hospital stay, several blood transfusions and skin grafting. A call went out asking for 15 youthful volunteers to offer patches of their skin, two or three inches square.  Nearly twice that number of young men showed up.  Ed always claimed that the volunteers were his “blood brothers.”  One leg eventually had to be amputated, but his injuries did not stop Ed from working.  He worked several different jobs including at the 7-Up Plant, Pfleuger Creamery, farm work, and MN/WI Truck Lines. 

 On February 17, 1949, Ed was united in marriage with Laura Mae Steltz in Aberdeen, SD. Together, Ed and Laura worked on their farm near Ortonville.  They celebrated 72 years of marriage “Covid style.” The family was not able to celebrate together, but Ed and Laura Mae still enjoyed a cake that had been made for them by their daughter. Ed looked forward to the day that Covid would be over and family gatherings could happen again.

Ed loved to visit and claimed to be a friend of everyone he met. To him no one was ever a stranger and he was always eager to visit. Ed loved life itself and the more people around him, the happier he was. He loved his family and enjoyed every celebration and party to mark birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays.

Despite the injuries Ed was given, he never gave up!  He kept working hard without complaint.  He had a strong trust in his Lord and quite a connection to the German language.  He and Pastor O’Neill found the Lord’s Prayer in German, which Ed enjoyed.

 Prior to his leg amputation, Ed was a member of the Dr. Pepper Bowling Team and enjoyed playing softball. He was an avid Minnesota Twins and Vikings fan. He also enjoyed fishing and deer hunting with his buddies. Ed and Laura Mae belonged to a card club where they played Whist.  They enjoyed several trips to Texas to visit Ed’s brother, Ray, and loved family reunions. Ed wanted to live to be 100 years old; he didn’t make that age but crammed everything and more into the time he had. His family loves him and is going to miss him, but are thrilled that he now has his “sea legs” back.

Ed is survived by his wife of 72 years, Laura Mae of Ortonville, MN; children: Shirley (Don “Butch”) Folk of Corona, SD; Jeanette (Don) Felton of Odessa, MN; Donna (Brad) Howland of Battle Lake, MN; Richard (Diana) Roeder of Princeton, MN; and Greg Roeder of Ortonville, MN; 11 grandchildren; 21 great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandchild; brother, Raymond (Kaye) Roeder of Ore City, TX; sisters-in-law, Ella Thomson of Louisburg, MN; Charlene (Matt) Karels of Ortonville, MN; Donna Roeder of Appleton, MN; and Lin Roeder of Ortonville, MN;  along with many cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends.

Preceding him in death were his parents; brothers: Vernon Roeder, John P. Roeder, and Alfred Roeder; and sisters: Lucille Thompson, LaVerne Plantz, Marcia Zick, and Delores Odden.