Dennis Prozinski

Dennis John Prozinski, 92, of Little Falls passed away on December 20, 2020 at Edgewood Senior Living in Sartell, MN.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Monday, December 28, 2020 at 11:00 am at St. James Catholic Church in Randall, MN. Visitation will be on Sunday, December 27, 2020 from 4-7 pm at St. James Catholic Church. Arrangements have been entrusted to Brenny Family Funeral Chapel-Randall.

Dennis was born September 12th 1928, the 7th of 13 children born to Joseph and Agnes Prozinski. The family home was located on Green Prairie Fish Lake and that is where Dennis and his siblings grew up. He attended school in a one room schoolhouse located on Hwy #115 about a mile from his home. When he was a teenager Dennis and his brother Bob rode a freight train out to North Dakota and worked in the grain fields. They would save their money and bring it back home to help support their large family. In 1946 when Dennis was 17, he enlisted in the United States Navy and served in the Aleutian Islands off the coast of Alaska. He received an honorable discharge from active duty in 1947 and continued his service as a member of the Naval Reserve until 1952.

On October 15th 1952 Dennis was united in marriage to Irene Killeaney of rural Randall, Minnesota in a ceremony officiated by Father Harold Kost at the St. James Catholic Church. The couple moved to Fresno, California where Dennis worked for the Edison Power Company. In 1955 the couple returned to Minnesota where they worked for a time on the Iron Range in northern Minnesota. From 1956 until 1960 the couple would spend their summers in Fairbanks, Alaska where Dennis worked construction and Irene did secretarial work. In 1961 they purchased a home in Little Falls where they resided until 1966 when they moved to Green Prairie Fish Lake and built their dream home. There the couple raised their three sons and lived the remainder of their active lives.

Dennis owned his own backhoe business and was well known in the central Minnesota area for his skillful ability to operate his machine. It was said that he could feel the bucket of his machine like it was an extension of his hands. He served on the Green Prairie town board for over 40 years and was instrumental in the development of the Darling/Green Prairie Park and Beach which has been enjoyed by thousands of county residents throughout the years. He was a member of the Morrison County Planning Commission for 8 years. He belonged to the Randall VFW and was a member of St. James Catholic Church. He was a longtime member of the 49’ers Operating Engineers Union.

Dennis was an avid outdoorsman and he loved to hunt and fish. He was a skilled walleye fisherman. He always loved to be the first line in the water whenever he was on one of his Canadian fishing expeditions and usually was the first to catch a fish. His children and grandchildren have many cherished memories of time spent with him fishing, camping, and listening to old country songs that he would play and sing on his guitar.

Dennis is survived by his three children, Alan (Susan) of Little Falls, Timothy of Little Falls, and Stephen (Denise) of Cold Spring; siblings, Claude Prozinski, Joyce Nelson, Kathy Mahling, and Anita Scully; grandchildren, Julie Schulte (Greg), Tracy Briese (Jeremy), Nicholas Prozinski (Melissa), Rachael Prozinski, and Matthew Prozinski; great-grandchildren, Vanessa, Kylee, Margot, Joslynn, Kaia, Brynna, and Jack.

He was preceded in death by his wife of 66 years, Irene; parents Joseph and Agnes Prozinski; siblings, Leonard, William, Robert, Joseph, Clayton, Eleanor, Carol, and JoAnn.

Due to the Covid pandemic an additional celebration of Dennis’ life will be held at a later date.