Elmo Lien

Elmo Lien, age 98, formerly of Comfrey, passed away on Thursday, November 26, 2020 at the Minnesota State Veterans Home in Luverne, MN. Private family services will be held on Saturday, December 5, 2020 at Albion Lutheran Church with Rev. Bob Springer officiating. Burial will follow at the church cemetery with military honors provided by the Albion Johnson American Legion Post #244 Honor Guard. Memorial may be directed to the Albion Johnson American Legion Post #244, 117 Broad St.So., Comfrey, MN 56019 or Minnesota Veterans Home, PO Box 539, Luverne, MN 56156. Elmo Curtis Lien was born August 25, 1922 on the family farm near Comfrey, MN to parents Emil and Clara (Knudson) Lien. He attended Mulligan Township Country School. After school and before joining the military, Elmo helped his uncles, Clarence Knudson, Syver Lien and Hans Lien, on the family farm. He entered the Navy in 1942 and served in the 53rd US Naval Construction Battalion in the South Pacific, Guam and New Caledonia until his honorable discharge in 1945. His WWII military career involved rebuilding airstrips, bridges and roads destroyed by enemy forces. Bulldozers and Catepillars were his tools. As a Navy Seabee, their motto was "Can Do" and Elmo held that principle throughout his life. He married Elnora Hotchkiss on September 18, 1949 at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in St. James. The couple farmed northwest of St. James on the family farm until 2008 when they moved to Comfrey. His skill in fixing anything from tractors to toys and building or engineering from any material you put in front of him, became a great asset in farming. Elmo enjoyed fishing and hunting and most of all spending time with famlily. A kind and gentle man, Elmo led a life filled with his faith and dedication to family. He loved outdoor time at their lake home on Cedar Island Lake near Richmond, MN. Elmo was a member of the American Legion of Comfrey and Rochester respectively, a Gold Circle member of the VFW in Sleepy Eye, a Sons of Norway member of the Kristiania Lodge of Rochester, and a lifelong member of Albion Lutheran Church. Survivors include his daughters; Patricia (David) Hesse of Comfrey, Dr. Deborah Lien (Dale Norell) of Rochester; 5 grandchildren: Tammy Hesse of Comfrey, MN, Troy (Danielle) Hesse of Lakeville, MN, Todd (Sara) Hesse of Victoria, MN, Aaron (Sara) Norell of Maple Grove, MN, and Ana Norell of Hastings, MN; 4 great-granddaughters Makenzie, Brenna, Aevaleen, and Liahna; 2 great-grandsons Henry and Theodore; and nieces Virgene Stauffer and Renelle Biggar. He was preceded in death by his parents and his wife, Elnora.