Joseph Richard Van Watermeulen

Joseph Richard Van Watermeulen was born on August 10, 1934, on a farm near Minneota, the son of Jules and Alice (DeRuyck) Van Watermeulen. He received all of the sacraments at St. Edward Catholic Church in Minneota. At age two, his family moved to Illinois for nine years, until they moved back to Minneota and farmed near Porter. On October 20, 1956, he was united in marriage to Kathryn Sanders at St. Edward Catholic Church. Joe and Kathryn lived in the Marshall/Minneota area for three years where Joe did road construction and worked as a mechanic/bus driver for the Minneota Schools. In 1961, they moved their family to Illinois where Joe worked at International Harvester as a welder. In 1970, they moved back to Minnesota to farm Joe’s parents’ land and Joe opened and operated a welding shop. They moved to Minneota in 1989 when Joe retired from farming. He went to work for McLaughlin & Schultz as a welder until his retirement in 1999. The years Joe and Kathryn had a camper and their lake home at Lake Shetek were a special time enjoyed by the family. Joe enjoyed taking everyone pontooning, skiing, tubing and swimming. He always enjoyed bowling, golfing, and shooting pool. Another favorite pastime was playing cards with the family, especially “guts” and “31.” He had formed a special bond with their pet shih tzu “Nova.” Joe died on Saturday, October 31, 2015, at the Minneota Manor in Minneota. He is survived by his wife, Kathryn, of Minneota, daughter Connie (Phillip) Van De Veire, of Canby, sons Clark (and Julie) of Rushmore, MN, Perry (and Dori) of Fort Lupton, CO, Loren (and Susan) of Grantsburg, WI, and Todd (and Jan) of Cannon Falls, MN, 14 grandchildren Brandon Van De Veire, Brian (and Jolene) Van De Veire, Jessica (and Chris) Hansen, Jenny (and Tony) Hoskins, Katie, Josh and Cassie Van Watermeulen, Jackie, Peter and Amanda Van Watermeulen, Nick and Abby Van Watermeulen and Jared and Justin Van Watermeulen, four great-grandchildren and 1 step great-granddaughter. He was preceded in death by his parents, Jules and Alice, one infant daughter Caryl Ann, brothers Florian, Donald, Ronald and Gerrard “Jerry.”