Richard Lofte

Richard Lofte, 96, Hoffman, died Monday, January 04, 2010, at the Good Samaritan Society in Hoffman. Funeral services for Richard Lofte will be held at 11:00 am on Thursday, January 7, 2010, at Lincoln Lutheran Church in rural Hoffman with the Rev. Barbara Chapman officiating. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service. Dick was born in Minneapolis on December 18, 1913, to Arthur and Anna Lofte. He attended Bethlehem Lutheran Church where he was baptized and confirmed. He graduated from Minneapolis South High School in June 1932, winning letters in track and cross country running. On August 29, 1941, he was united in marriage to Alice E. Lundquist at the Edina-Morningside Congregational Church where Alice taught Sunday school and sang in the choir. Dick enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard in March 1942, and was called into service in June 1942. He was sent to Alameda, California, for basic training and reassigned to Monterey, California, for further duties. After serving three years, he was honorably discharged on July 1, 1945, and returned home to Minneapolis, at which time he went to work for the U. S. Postal Service in the vehicle maintenance facility. After putting in almost 30 years in the post office, Dick and his wonderful wife Alice decided it was time to retire and move on. They purchased a home on Red Rock Lake near Hoffman and moved in on September 1, 1973. They immediately joined Lands Church in Hoffman and later transferred to Lincoln Lutheran Church. For over twenty years, they enjoyed lake living, fishing, feeding birds, and enjoying the company of wonderful neighbors and friends around the lake area. On December 7, 1994, Alice passed away and was buried in the Lincoln Church Cemetery. Eventually Dick sold the lake home and bought a small house in Hoffman, where he lived until he suffered a heart attack and found it necessary to move into the Barrett Care Center. He later moved into an apartment in the Rolling Hills Residence assisted living facility. Dick was a 60-year member of the Minneapolis American Legion Post 540 and also served as a deacon at both Lands and Lincoln Churches; he had also served on the Lincoln Cemetery Board. "In closing this obituary, I am not naming any specific person lest I leave someone out, so I humbly say thank you to my friends in our 65-Card group, to Alice's Bridge group, to friends and neighbors around Red Rock Lake, to the people in Hoffman and Lincoln Church, to staff and friends at the Barrett Extended Care Unit. God bless you all." Dick was preceded in death by his parents and his beloved wife, Alice.

---