George Knosalla

George Knosalla, age 89, of Staples, MN, passed away on Wednesday, June 6,
George Steve Knosalla was born on December 21st, 1911 in Moran Township of Todd County to Theodore and Josie (Tepley) Knosalla. He grew up on the family farm and attended country school. During the war effort he went to the West Coast and worked in the airplane factories. Once he was made aware of his draft status he returned home and joined the Navy. He spent 2 years in the South Pacific and San Diego. Following an injury he was discharged and returned home to central Minnesota. On September 10th, 1945 he married Florence Carlson. Together they lived on and ran the family farm. For a time in the late ?40s he ran a sign shop as well as worked for the local Minneapolis Moline dealer. Most of his career was spent as a millwright in some remote parts of the world including working on heavy equipment in Iceland and Africa. Closer to home he worked the St. Lawrence Seaway and the missile silos as they were being constructed across the central prairie states of the country. For a year George and Florence returned to Staples where they owned and operated the Spot Café. In the mid ?60s he spent time in the taconite mines near Hibbing and the Monticello power plant. Even in retirement he enjoyed taking on interesting but smaller tasks like the sugar beet processing plants and setting up paper plants. In 1967 they retired to the 11th Crow Wing Lake where he enjoyed hunting and fishing with family and friends. During the fall of 1996 he and Florence moved to their apartment in Staples. He was a member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church, a 45-year member of Carpenter and Millwrights Local 548 in St. Paul, and a life member of both the VFW and the DAV.

George is survived by his wife, Florence; 2 sons, Bruce (Norma) Knosalla of Staples, and David Knosalla of Minnetonka; a brother, Donald Knosalla of Redding, CA; 2 sisters, Evangeline Brown of Whiskey Junction, CA, and Gladys (Carroll) West of San Dimas, CA; as well as 4 grandchildren, Michelle, Andrew, Derrick, and Nicholas. He was preceded in death by his parents and a sister, Beatrice Crossman.