Vernon "Larry" Fjelstad

Funeral Services for Vernon A. “Larry” Fjelstad will be held at 2:30 P.M. on Sunday, July 28, at First Lutheran Church in Albert Lea.  The Reverend John Holt will officiate. Visitation will be one hour before services at the church. Interment will be in Graceland Cemetery at a later date.

Larry died on Saturday July 20, at the Minnesota Masonic Home in Bloomington, MN. He was 92. He was born on September 3, 1926, in Lake Mills, Iowa the son of Thomas Rudolph and Mabel (Flugum) Fjelstad.  Vernon “Larry” graduated from Lake Mills High School with the class of 1944 and then went to work helping on the family farm.  He enlisted in the US Army and served our country in the US Army Occupational Forces in Japan from 1946 until his honorable discharge in 1948.

He met Lorraine Stern at a dance on a ballroom floor, and they danced through life together for almost 70 years.  They were married on October 23, 1949, at First Lutheran Church.  Together they built their house on West Trail, where they lived until recent years. His entire career was spent at Freeborn-Mower Rural Electric Association, first as a lineman, then a foreman, retiring as the line superintendent in 1989. Proud of his service to our country, he was a member of the American Legion and VFW, spending much time playing cribbage and shooting the breeze with his comrades. Throughout his life Larry enjoyed bowling, gardening, horseshoe, a competitive game of cards, a good game of golf and was a passionate spectator of all kinds of sporting events.

A large circle of friends, and his three sons and their families kept Larry fully engaged in life. Whether it be dancing, travel, cards, golf, dinner out, sporting events, or any activity that brought everyone together- Larry always enjoyed.

Larry is survived his wife Lorraine, three sons: Kim (Julie) Fjelstad of Chaska MN; Dani (Tia) Fjelstad of Eden Prairie MN; Lon (Lois) Fjelstad of Apple Valley, MN; grandchildren: Amy (Andy), David (Erica) and their children Elijah and Abel; Tristan, Luke, Ryann, Jordan, Sarah (Ryan) and their children Jacob and Caitlin; Kristin (Justin) and their children Nora and Jackson; and Sean; sister’s-in-law  and brother-in-law: Gloria Fjelstad, Olive Stern,  Patricia Stern, Larry and Linda Stern and nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Thomas Rudolph and Mabel (Flugum) Fjelstad, brothers: Wayne Fjelstad, and Raymond Fjelstad and his wife Delores, parents-in-law George and Bernice Stern, brother’s-in-law Donald and Luvern Stern, nieces DeLynne (Fjelstad) Hengesteg, Nicole Fjelstad, and nephews Jerry Stern and Matthew Stern.