Elmer Mickelsen

Elmer Mickelsen, age 98, of Staples, passed away at the Owatonna Care Center, on Tuesday, September 18, 2012. A funeral service will be held on Saturday, September 22, at 11:00 AM, at the Faith Lutheran Church in Staples. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service, at the church. Burial will be at the Evergreen Hill Cemetery, in Staples.

Elmer was born on July 4, 1914, near Kensal, North Dakota. He was the son of Andrew and Anna (Larson) Mickelsen. He attended rural school and graduated from Kensal High School. He worked as a mechanic at Kensal and Carrington, ND.

On June 18, 1938, he married Florence Reichert, of Carrington, ND. They lived in Carrington until World War II, when they moved to Omaha, NE and later to Colorado Springs, CO, where he worked as a civilian automotive instructor at Fort Crook and Camp Carson Army bases. After the war, and moving to Fargo, ND, he was Service Manager for a Ford Tractor Distributorship. Later, they move to Thief River Falls, MN, where he was a District Manager for Massey Ferguson Inc. in the Thief River area. Moving to Staples, in 1960, he was employed by the Staples Vo-Tech School and started the Farm Equipment Mechanics Program. He was an instructor and later, North Campus Supervisor until retirement in 1980.

During retirement, he and Florence spent 14 winters in Florida and during the summers, in his early retirement, he worked as a part time Real Estate Salesman in Staples.
He was a member of Faith Lutheran Church, past president of the Staples Host Lions Club, member of Teacher Organizations, MEA, MVA, and REAM.

He leaves his wife, Florence; son, Robert of Samson, AL; a daughter, Sharon Klein of Owatonna, MN; 5 grandchildren; and 7 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents; 3 brothers; and 1 sister.