Thief River Falls - Lawrence Philipp, 88, died Monday, July 12, 1999 at Northwest Medical Center in Thief River Falls.
Funeral services were held at 2 p.m. on Thursday, July 15 at Bethany Lutheran Church, rural Thief River Falls, with Reverend John Wollenzien officiating. Grace Hammer was the organist, and vocal music was provided by Beverly Swenson and Wendy Blazejewski.
Casketbearers were Lawrence's grandchildren, Kurt Philipp, Steven Philipp, Kerstin Blazina, Aaron Blazina, Jason Philipp and Amanda Philipp. Honorary casketbearers were Roger Philipp, Joe Philipp, Dean Philipp, Dale Philipp, Scott Philipp, Michael Philipp, Darren Philipp and Jeffrey Philipp. Burial was in Bethany Cemetery in Smiley township of Pennington county. The Green Funeral Home of Thief River Falls was in charge of the arrangements.
Lawrence Philipp was born on March 21, 1911 in Grand Plain township of Marshall county, the son of John and Sarah (Klockman) Philipp. He was baptized and confirmed into the Lutheran faith, attended District 76 country school and graduated from the Northwest School of Agriculture in Crookston in 1928.
He farmed in Grand Plain township of Marshall county, worked in the woods in northern Minnesota during the winters and also worked as a welder in the shipyards in San Francisco, CA during the war years.
On October 25, 1941 Lawrence was united in marriage to Fern Nelson at Mavie. The couple rented a farm in Excel township of Marshall county for a short while and purchased a farm in Smiley township of Pennington county in 1949. He also farmed his father's farm for many years.
Lawrence was a member of Bethany Lutheran Church.
He enjoyed hunting and fishing, and his grandchildren were his pride and joy.
Lawrence is survived by his wife, Fern; two sons, Wallace (Thelma) of Peoria, IL and Ronald (Lois) of Thief River Falls; one daughter, Gloria (Ken) Blazina of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada; six grandchildren; three brothers, James (Connie), Vernon (Yvonne) and Harry (Harriet), all of rural Thief River Falls; one sister, Estelle Haughom of Las Vegas, NV; one sister-in-law, Mildred Philipp of So. San Fransisco, CA; and 16 nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents; one sister, Edna McFarland; three brothers, Ralph, Earl and Charles; and two brothers-in-law, Irvin Haughom and Clifford McFarland. A00003B1999JL21