Kenneth Welle

Kenneth J. "Ken" Welle, age 77 of Meire Grove, died peacefully on Friday, December 23, 2016 at the CentraCare Health Hospital in Melrose, Minnesota.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, December 30 at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Meire Grove with Rev. Marvin Enneking officiating and Rev. Ken Thielman concelebrating. Interment will be in the parish cemetery.

Visitation will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Patton-Schad Funeral Home in Melrose and from 10 to 11 a.m. Friday at the church in Meire Grove. St. Joseph's Men's Society will pray at 6 p.m. followed by parish prayers at 7 p.m. Thursday evening at the funeral home.

Kenneth Joseph Welle was born September 16, 1939 in Meire Grove, Minnesota to Wilfred and Ledvina (Berns) Welle. Ken graduated from Sauk Centre High School and served in the U.S. Marine Corps. On February 8, 1964 he was united in marriage to Theresa Bzdok at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Little Falls. Ken was a self-employed carpenter who retired in 2002. He was a member of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Meire Grove and the St. Joseph's Men's Society. Ken enjoyed fishing, spending time at the cabin, and loved spending time with his family, especially his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Survivors include his children, Debbie (Steve) DeVries of Monticello, Tammy (Al) Koetter of Melrose, Scott (Melissa) Welle of Avon, Kim (Jim) Blonigen of Miramar, Florida, and Shawn (Vicki) Welle of Brooklyn Park; 15 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren; brothers, Allan Welle of Waite Park, Tom (Marge) Welle of Sauk Centre, Roger (Joyce) Welle of Greenwald, David (Janet) Welle of Rockville, and Mark (Lola) Welle of Sauk Centre; and sisters, Diane (Rob) Moritz of Waite Park and Grace (Richard) Carlson of Albany.

Ken was preceded in death by his wife, Theresa Welle on October 24, 2003; parents; and brother, William Welle.

Serving as casket bearers will be Al, Tom, Roger, David, Mark and Nathan Welle, Noah and Nick Blonigen, and Jake Koetter. Cross bearer will be Sara Blonigen and scripture bearer will be Sydney Blonigen. Honorary bearers will be Sara, Nick, Sydney, and Noah Blonigen, Kelly Stellmach, Kayla and Katie DeVries, Kirsten Green, Jake and Katelyn Koetter, and Hannah, Nathan, Ben, Lauren, and Andrew Welle.