Dennis Hedstrom

Dennis Hedstrom, 95, formerly of Hoffman, died Saturday, March 29, 2014, at the MN Veterans Home in Fergus Falls. The memorial service for Dennis Hedstrom will be held at 1:00 pm Wednesday, April 2, 2014, at the Lincoln Lutheran Church, rural Hoffman, with the Rev. Kathryn Rothman officiating. Visitation will be at the church one hour prior to the service. Interment will be in Bethel Cemetery, Hoffman, at a later date. Dennis Andrew Hedstrom was born near Herman on October 16, 1918, to Andrew and Tillie Hedstrom. His mom passed away just four months later in the flu epidemic. Her sister, Emma Melin, raised him for a time, succeeded by Dennis' older sister, Melvina and her husband, Richard Lueneburg. At age 5 he returned to the family farm east of Herman, welcomed by his siblings and dad. Dennis attended District 69 country school and graduated from Herman High School in 1936. Farm work and, later, working in California were interrupted by World War II. Dennis served as a US Navy engine mechanic in the Atlantic theater of the War. After finishing diesel mechanic school, Dennis began his career as a Mississippi River boatman. He worked for the Cargill Corporation for 30 years, many of them as chief engineer on his boat. Dennis married Lorraine Nordin in 1954. They later divorced. He married Laila (Nelson) Burns in 1983 at The Little Brown Church near Nashua, Iowa. Dennis and Laila spent their retirement years in Barrett and Hoffman, where his mechanical abilities were a benefit to many people. Declining health in recent years required him to live at the Hayer assisting living home and later the MN Veterans Home in Fergus Falls. There he passed away on Saturday, March 29, 2014, at the age of 95. Dennis is survived by his wife Laila and her children Terry Burns, Kathy Braaten, Colleen Hogan, and Tom Burns and their families, including their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Also surviving Dennis are many nieces and nephews who loved him, to whom he showed interest and attention, since he never had any children of his own. Those who pre-deceased Dennis include his parents, sisters Gladys and Ethel in their early childhood, and sisters Melvina (Richard) Lueneburg, Mabel (Fred) Mattson, Tillie (David) Johnson and Nina (Robert) Johnson. Also deceased are brothers Darwin (Mavis) and Alvin (Hazel) Hedstrom, and three nieces. Dennis was a member of the Lincoln Lutheran Church, the American Legion Post 378 in Herman, the Odd Fellows Lodge, Masonic Lodge, and other organizations. Memorials are preferred to the Lincoln Lutheran Church, Hoffman, or the MN Veterans Home, Fergus Falls.

Funeral Home: Erickson-Smith Funeral Home - Hoffman 103 7th Street North Hoffman, MN US 56339

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Previous Events

cemetery
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Visitation
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Service
Wednesday, April 2, 2014