Merle Stoneberg

Merle Wayne Stoneberg, the son of Lawrence and Ada (Quackenbush) Stoneberg was born on May 5, 1919 in Stevens County, MN. He was baptized and later confirmed at St. John's Lutheran Church in Donnelly, MN. Merle grew up in rural Donnelly, where he attended District 67 Country School, and graduated from Alberta High School in 1936. On October 19, 1941, he was united in marriage to Leora Niss. Leora passed away on December 3, 1987. Following their marriage the couple lived on the family farm, where they raised their 4 children. In 1963 they moved to Donnelly, where Merle worked for Leonard Smith Trucking until 1967 when he went to work for GTA in Donnelly, transferring to GTA in Windom and Mountain Lake, MN, where he worked until retirement in 1993. Merle was married to Althea Pankratz on November 26, 1988. He enjoyed playing horseshoes and golf. He also spent a lot of time taking care of his and Althea's apple trees on the farm near Comfrey, MN, selling the apples at the Farmer's Market in Mountain Lake. Merle also very much enjoyed morning coffee around their table, serving cookies that he had baked and sometimes hiding them from the grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Merle died on Wednesday, September 26, 2007 at the Good Samaritan Village in Mountain Lake having lived to reach the age of 88 years. He is survived by his wife, Althea of Mountain Lake; 4 children, Nancy (Glenn) Knopp of Morris, MN, Linda (Dick) Wente of Donnelly, Wayne (Barb) Stoneberg of Willmar and Marvin Stoneberg of Moorhead; 9 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren, Rodney (Sherree) Kruize and Cody, Brian (Peg) Kruize and Amber and Breanna, Lori (Jon) Moser and Jenna, Jacob, Joanna and Justus, Brenda Wente, Chad (Jackie) Wente and Cade and Cole, Jeff (Laura) Stoneberg and Scott and Joshua, Sara Stoneberg, Darrin Stoneberg, Jesse Stoneberg; a sister, Lorraine (Al) Riemer of Willmar; a brother, Darrell Stoneberg of Great Falls, MT; a sister-in-law, Edna Mae Niss of Wheaton, MN; 4 step-children, 9 step-grandchildren, and 17 step-great-grandchildren, LaVonne (Steve) Thomforde, Kandra and Kim, Glennyce (Rick) Hoek, Taber and Trent, DeLyle (Merlys) Pankratz, Natalie, Nicole and Noel, Jean Eigen, Shandette and Trilby, and their families; many other relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife Lora; a step-grandson, Sheldon Knopp, a brother-in-law, Lawrence Niss; 2 sisters-in-law, Margaret Grohn and Belva Bornhoft.