Cover photo for Gene Schultz's Obituary
Gene Schultz Profile Photo
1955 Gene 2007

Gene Schultz

July 18, 1955 — July 18, 2007

Funeral services for Gene Schultz, age 52, of Minneapolis, MN, and formerly of rural Milbank, SD, will begin at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, July 23, 2007, at the Emanuel Lutheran Church in Milbank. The Reverend James L. Wiese will officiate. Gene died on Wednesday, July 18, 2007, at the Abbott-Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis after a long struggle with colon cancer. The organist will be Kristy Tostenson and Wayne and Nanci Dauwen will sing a duet. Family members are asked to meet in the church chapel by 10:00 a.m. Monday to attend services. Visitation will be at the Emanuel-Patterson Funeral Home in Milbank on Sunday from 5-7 p.m. and in the church Monday one hour before services. Pallbearers will be Wayne Dauwen, Ryan Schultz, Michael Riley, Dale Weinkauf, Jerry Anderson, Ted Hendricks, and Eric Hermans. Burial will be in the Bethlehem Lutheran Cemetery in Alban Township, Grant County, South Dakota.
Gene Alan Schultz was born on July 18, 1955, in Milbank, South Dakota, the third child of Lester and Vera (Heuer) Schultz. He was baptized and confirmed at the Bethlehem Lutheran Church in rural Milbank, SD. He grew up on the family farm east of Milbank. His education began in Alban #2 country school and completed the eighth grade in the Milbank Public Schools.

During his early adulthood, he farmed with his father. He worked several years at the Big Stone Canning Company and later worked for Fryer Construction doing concrete work and building grain bins. Gene moved to the Watertown area where he worked at the poultry processing plant in Watertown. After his move to Minneapolis where he resided for ten years, he was employed by Wal-Mart and Target stores and also worked at various restaurants.
In December 2006 he was diagnosed with colon cancer and was confined either to the hospital or nursing home for the remainder of his life. He spent time at the Robbinsdale Rehab Center and later at Augustana Health Care Center, both in Minneapolis. He fought valiantly for his life, never giving up hope until all avenues were exhausted. Through the majority of his illness, he remained alert and had a keen ability to remember all his medications and when they were administered to him, even though he had periods of being extremely ill. He had a strong faith in God, which he relied upon heavily, indicating recently that his next goal was heaven.
His favorite pastimes included reading, doing crossword puzzles, listening to "oldies" music, and watching John Wayne movies. The topic of baseball would bring a smile to his face, as he would chat about his favorite team, the Minnesota Twins. He taught himself to use the computer and enjoyed gleaning information on the internet. During the better times, he enjoyed competition in the various recreational activities offered at Augustana Health Care Center and delighted in a wheel chair "adventure" should the occasion present itself.

Survivors include his sister, Diann (Orville) Dauwen, Milbank; his brother, Lyle (Phyllis) Schultz, rural Milbank; two uncles, Vernon (Dick) Heuer, Milbank and Dale Heuer, Osakis, MN; several nieces and nephews, and special friend, Alice of Minneapolis. His parents, grandparents, and a nephew preceded him in death.

Guestbook

Visits: 1

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the
Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors

Send a Card

Send a Card