Howard Henry Mohr

The funeral service for Howard Mohr, 83, of Cottonwood, will take place at 3:00 p.m. on Friday, October 7, 2022, at Christ Lutheran Church in Cottonwood.  Visitation will be Thursday, October 6, from 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. with a prayer service at 6:30 p.m. at Christ Lutheran Church.  Visitation will continue one hour prior to the service on Friday, October 7 from 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.  at the church.  A recording of the service will be available at the Christ Lutheran Church YouTube page and www.horvathfuneralservice.com.

Howard Henry Mohr was born on March 20, 1939, and passed on Sunday, September 4, 2022. The cause of his death was Parkinson’s. Howard was able to live at home with his wife of 59 years, Jody, until August 23rd when due to difficulties walking, he moved into Fieldcrest Assisted Living in Cottonwood, MN.

Howard and Jody moved to a farmplace south of Cottonwood, MN, in 1970 when Howard began a teaching job as Professor of English at Southwest State University. They adopted their baby daughter and named her Susan Rose in the spring of 1971. 

His love of writing, humor and satire inspired his most memorable book “How to Talk Minnesotan” which was a regional best seller and later made into the musical “How to Talk Minnesotan: The Musical.” When approached about making a musical of his book, Howard was skeptical because, as he said, there was no plot. Nevertheless, with the collaboration of producers and actors from Troupe America and the inspired musical compositions of Drew Jansen, it became a long running hit at the Plymouth Playhouse. The production was taken on the road many times and played in many venues across the state. Howard was also author of another book of humor “Minnesota Book of Days” and the updated version of “How to Talk Minnesotan Revised,” all published by Penguin Books. Howard is also author of a book of poetry and prose entitled “How to Tell a Tornado.”  

Howard was a regular speaker at events across the country sharing his unique sense of humor. He had a knack for identifying the hidden meaning in language and exposing its contradictions. 

Howard lived most of his life in Minnesota but was born in Des Moines, Iowa. Parents Rosie and Ralph took the family to live in San Jose, California, for a few years in the 1940s but returned to Iowa to live near the town of Ferguson, where they lived on a farm next to Ralph’s brother, John Mohr. Howard had many aunts, uncles and cousins in Iowa on both the Mohr side and Fredregill side of the family, too numerous to mention. 

Howard is survived by his wife, Jody, and daughter Susan Rose and husband Jackson. Other family members surviving are his sister Rose, brothers Jack and Paul and sister Donna and husband Steve Kinney. 

Preceding him in death were his father, Ralph William Mohr (1956), mother Rosie May Fredregill Mohr (2010), infant brother Vernon (1937), and sister-in-law Patricia Ann Mohr.

In the early 1970s, Howard and Jody took care of their nephew Tommy Vick, son of Jody's sister Jeri Reed. Tommy passed in 1977. 

Loved by many, Howard will be missed, but he leaves behind a huge collection of his writings and performances to enjoy. 

Memorials may be given to Southwest Minnesota State University and Marshall-Lyon County Library.

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