John Joseph Wichern

JOHN JOSEPH WICERN was born July 13, 1929 to John H. and Edna (Miller) Wichern on the family farm in Hope Township near Tyler, Minnesota. He attended eight years of country school at Indian Grove District #43 near Tyler. He served in the armed forces in Korea in the U. S. Army, 7th Division, 31st Regiment, Company E. On March 7, 1953 he was wounded in action by tank mortar and began recovery in the army hospital in Japan. From there he spent nine months recuperating at Fitzsimons Army Hospital in Aurora, Colorado, and finished his tour in the 1st Tank Battalion at Fort Hood, Texas. After his honorable discharge, John married Shirley Hall on October 29, 1955 at Danebod Lutheran Church in Tyler. Their union was blessed with two sons and 54 years of life together. They farmed two-and-a-half miles west of Tyler. John was well-known for his sheep raising. In 1974 he was honored with a 200% Lamb Crop Award, the first time that had been achieved in the nation. His excellence was recognized in 1977 when he was one of the first recipients of the Silver Bell Award given out by the Minnesota Lamb and Wool Producers. He was on the Advisory Board for Minnesota West Community and Technical College in Pipestone, Minnesota, helping start their Lamb & Wool program. John and Shirley retired from farming in 1988 and moved into Tyler, though John was still at the farm daily. Shirley died in 2010. For the past year, John has been a resident at Colonial Manor of Balaton where on Saturday, November 22, 2014 he died at the age of 85.

John was a member of First English Lutheran Church. He was a lifetime member of the VFW, a former Kiwanian, and had served on the Elevator Board and the Tyler School Board. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, card playing (Pepper was his game), and gardening, and especially enjoyed being with his grandchildren.

John is lovingly remembered by his sons, John M. and his wife Dawn, and Duane and his wife Judy, all of Tyler, Minnesota; 9 grandchildren; 6 great-grandchildren and one on the way; and three sisters, Marge Taveirne of Tyler, Minnesota, Irene (Morris) Fehl of Lake Benton, Minnesota, and Helen (Joe) Murphey of Bloomington, Minnesota. John was preceded in death by his wife, Shirley; his parents; and two sisters, Dorothy Hansen and Mary Judge.

Blessed be his memory.