Lawrence Imdieke

Lawrence J. Imdieke, age 89 of Meire Grove, died peacefully surrounded by his family on Monday, May 4, 2015 at the CentraCare Health Nursing Home in Sauk Centre, Minnesota.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, May 7 at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Meire Grove with Rev. Marvin Enneking officiating. Interment will be in the parish cemetery.

Visitation will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday and from 8:30 to 10 a.m. Thursday at the Patton-Schad Funeral Home in Melrose. Parish prayers will be held at 7 p.m. followed by the St. Joseph's Men's Society and the Knights of Columbus at 8 p.m. Wednesday evening at the funeral home.

Lawrence Joseph Imdieke was born January 19, 1926 in Meire Grove, Minnesota to Bernard and Elizabeth (Haverkamp) Imdieke. On June 12, 1951 he married Lucille Schleppenbach at Seven Dolors Catholic Church in Albany. Lawrence and Lucille owned and operated Imdieke Store in Meire Grove for 41 years, retiring in 1997. He was a member of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church and St. John's Choir, Queen of Peace General Assembly, Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus since 1962, Meire Grove Athletic Club, St. Joseph's Men's Society, and St. John's Catholic United.

Music was an important part of Lawrence's life. He was a very accomplished concertina player. He loved listening to bands and dancing with Lucille as well as singing harmony with his children. Lawrence was a member of the Meire Grove City Band where he played bass drum for many years.

He was a big fan of the Meire Grove baseball team. Lawrence loved the outdoors and walking in the woods. In addition to attending local parish events, he also enjoyed traveling out-of-state with family and attending monthly Knights of Columbus meetings. His family will never forget his gorgeous blue eyes and his beautiful smile that made his eyes twinkle, especially when telling one of his many jokes. Lawrence had a wonderful sense of humor and loved making people smile and laugh.

Survivors include his loving wife of 63 years, Lucille Imdieke of Meire Grove; children, Linda (Mike) Klaphake of Melrose, LuAnn (Art Wilkinson) Imdieke of St. Paul, Louis (Rhonda Wimmer) Imdieke of St. Cloud, Leona (Louis Stoderl) Ulrich of Perham, LaVonne (Rich) Gallus of St. Joseph, Lyle (Jackie) Imdieke of Northfield, Lynette (Fred) Imdieke-Struzyk of South Haven, Laura (Mark Glatzel) Imdieke of St. Cloud, Lisa (Mike) Arend of Andover, Lloyd (Shelly) Imdieke of St. Cloud, and Lila (Tim) Smith of Crystal; 25 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren; and sister, Lorraine (Hank) Hellerman of Vadnais Heights.

Lawrence was preceded in death by his parents; sons, Lawrence "Larry" Imdieke, Jr. and Lynn Imdieke; brothers, Alphonse, Leo, Bernard, and Raphael Imdieke; and sisters, Philomena "Minnie" Hagemeier, Veronica "Fronie" Steinhofer, and Rose Meyer.

Serving as casket bearers will be Louie Imdieke, Lyle Imdieke, Lloyd Imdieke, Benjamin Imdieke, Matthew Imdieke, Matthew Klaphake, and Joseph Arend. Cross bearer will be Sarah Marrinan and scripture bearer will be Melissa Murtaugh.