George Lewis Reese

Funeral service for George Reese, 87, of Tracy, will be at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 7, 2015, at the First United Methodist Church of Tracy. Visitation will be Friday from 4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. with a prayer service at 7:00 p.m. at the Almlie-Horvath Funeral Home in Tracy. Visitation will continue from 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Saturday at the church. Interment will take place at the Tracy City Cemetery. Military Rites provided by the U.S. American Legion Post 173 of Tracy. George L. Reese was born on August 25, 1927, to Theodore August Reese and Jennie Elizabeth Allen, on a farm west of Windom. He grew up in the Windom, Storden and Dovray areas and attended school in Dovray and Westbrook. George worked as a projectionist at the Westbrook Theatre in Westbrook, the Walnut Grove Theatre in Walnut Grove and the Hollywood Theatre in Tracy. He took time out for service in the U.S. Army during World War II, serving in the 717th Tank Battalion which was attached to the 23rd Infantry Division out of Fort Lewis, Washington. After his honorable discharge, George returned to the Hollywood Theatre in the evenings and owned and operated Reese Radio & TV Service during the 1950s. He met and married Harriet Haney at the Church of Christ in Tracy. The couple was united in marriage on May 12, 1952. George served as Deacon at the church and one time Chairman of the Church Board. Through testing at the Federal Building in St. Paul, George obtained a First Class Radio and Electronic License. He later went to work in the Marshall District Office for the Minnesota State Patrol as a Senior Radio Technician. George spent 31 and one half years there and worked evenings at the Hollywood Theatre for 25 years. George and Harriet were members of the Roaring Lions Motorcycle Club out of Amiret in the 1970s, the Eagles Club in Marshall, and American Legion Post 113 of Marshall. The American Legion Post in Storden, MN, is named after his Uncle, Herb Reese, who was killed in World War I. George send monthly newsletters to his children about his life growing up. His retirement time was spent reading the Bible, western books, researching the history of Tracy and Lyon County. He did electronic repairs and was a Ham Radio Operator and member of the Marshall Amateur Radio Club. George died on Tuesday, March 3, 2015, at the Sanford Healthcare Center in Sioux Falls, SD. He is survived by his wife, Harriet, of Tracy, children Nancy (and Jamal) Ansari of Placentia, CA, Marlys (and Steve) O’Neal of Granite Falls, MN, Marilyn (and Paul) Savage of Shreveport, LA, George Jr. (and Denaye) Reese of Fort Worth, TX, 13 grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren and three more great grandchildren expected this year, nephews and nieces. He was preceded in death by his parents.