John Nathe

John L. Nathe, age 82 of Meire Grove, passed away unexpectedly from cardiac arrest on Sunday, November 20, 2022 at the St. Cloud Hospital in St. Cloud, Minnesota.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, November 26 at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Meire Grove with Rev. Marvin Enneking officiating. Interment will be in the parish cemetery with military honors by the Melrose Veterans Honor Guard.

Visitation will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday at the Patton-Schad Funeral Home in Melrose and from 9:45 to 10:45 a.m. Saturday at the church. Parish prayers will be held at 7 p.m. Friday evening at the funeral home.

John Leo Nathe was born March 7, 1940 to Leander and Loretta (Wiebolt) Nathe. He served in the Army National Guard and was honorably discharged on December 15, 1962. He was united in marriage to Virginia Frieler on July 12, 1969 at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Meire Grove. John farmed a mile east of Meire Grove his entire life until selling it to his son, Jeron, in 2006, making it a fifth-generation family farm. He enjoyed continuing to help on the farm by driving tractor and feeding calves with the grandkids.

He was an active member of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Meire Grove where he did general upkeep and served as Sacristan and Eucharistic Minister. He was a member of St. John’s Society, Meire Grove Co-op Association, and played trumpet in the Meire Grove band for many years.  He enjoyed going out to eat, traveling, including trips to the Holy Land and Germany, attending his grandchildren’s school activities and Meire Grove baseball games. He also enjoyed researching and learning new things on the computer.

Survivors include his loving wife of 53 years, Virginia “Ginny” Nathe of Meire Grove; children, Lori (Jim) VanderHeyden of Big Lake, Greg (Jill) Nathe of Brooklyn Park, Jeron (Brenda) Nathe of Meire Grove, Karl (Sally) Nathe of Albertville, and Jana (Eric) Hennen of Savage; 15 grandchildren and one great-grandson; and sisters, Jane (Dave) Meyer of Sauk Centre, Judy (Mike) Zabel Felling of Sauk Centre, and Betty (Mike) Blenkush of Sauk Centre.

John was preceded in death by his parents; and grandchildren, Joshua Nathe, Jacob Nathe, and Emma Hennen.