John G. Wohlers, Sr., 73

John G. Wohlers, Sr., 73, lifelong resident of Le Center, passed away on April 16, 2022, at Methodist Hospital in Rochester, surrounded by his loving wife and children. 

John was born on July 2, 1948, at St. Peter Hospital to George H. and Merle E. (Hinz) Wohlers. He grew up in Le Center and lived his entire life in the community. He enjoyed growing up on the farm, working the land, helping and learning from his dad, working with the animals and just being a country boy. 

John played a major role in transitioning the family dairy farm over to Wohlers Implement & Manufacturing where he did service work, building the “Acre Eater” product line and ultimately the parts manager.

He was a 1967 graduate of McKinley High School in Le Center. 

John was united in marriage to Laurie Richter on December 15, 1978, in Brookings, SD.  After driving truck over the road for a few years and working for Max Johnson Trucking, John worked for 21 years as the parts manager at his father-in-law’s Massey Ferguson dealership - Richter Implement in Le Center.  He enjoyed visiting with the customers, listening to the morning coffee crew, hearing what the farmers were doing and being close to home. 

When the “shop” closed its doors in 2001, he worked for a short time at Cambria in Le Sueur and then moved to Seneca in Montgomery as a cutter mechanic.  John was not fond of the long hours at Seneca, but his co-workers, fresh spring peas, sweetcorn, seasonal workers, cookouts and using his engineering talents to build line equipment for processing the vegetables more than made up for the exhausting hours. 

When he retired in 2014, John enjoyed vegetable gardening, mowing his lawn, making “the best” popcorn for all, cutting trees down for his wife, feeding the birds, riding his Honda Trike, helping his children with various projects, and finally having the time to clean up some of his “stuff.” 

John was never one to sit still for long. John shared his love of animals with his family. Over his lifetime, he brought many “pets” home: cats, dogs, a cow, horses, mules, raccoons, rabbits, chickens, ducks, pigs, turkeys and squirrels.

When John was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma in December 2016, he continued to do the things he loved and lived life as he wanted. If John couldn’t tinker with his things due to weather or fatigue, he found K-BID Auctions to be a fun way to spend his time and shared this love with others. 

He was looking forward to March 2nd, 2025, as the Wohlers Farm would be in the family for 100 years! John was proud to have lived his life and raised his family on the same farm where his father and grandfather also lived.

John is survived by his devoted wife, Laurie Wohlers of Le Center; children, John Wohlers, Jr. (special friend Heather) of Le Sueur, Katie (Jeff) Bisek of Prior Lake, Jerre Ann (Danny) Holicky of Le Center and George Wohlers of Savage; grandchildren, Hannah and Aiden Wohlers, Henry Bisek, Alex and Hallie Holicky, and Wyatt, Ty, and Carter Wohlers; siblings, Amine Wohlers of Montgomery, and Jeanie Wohlers of Montgomery; special daughters-in-law, Jolie Wohlers and Shanda Davis, mother-in-law Jerre Richter, brothers and sisters-in-laws, cousins, nieces and nephews.

John is preceded in death by his parents George and Merle Wohlers and father-in-law Roy Richter, as well as many beloved pets, especially Doppy, “the best dog ever.”

The family would like to extend their heartfelt thanks to the infusion nurses at Andreas Cancer Center in Mankato for their excellent care and company when John was receiving treatments (he enjoyed you all). Also to his doctors, nurse practitioners, and nurses in Mankato and Rochester who have worked endless hours in the fight on cancer, not only for John, but for all their patients. 

Special thank you to the ICU team at Methodist Hospital who made their final hours with John as special as they could be. 

Visitation will be held Thursday, May 5, 2022 from 9 to 10:45 a.m. with Mass of Christian Burial at 11 a.m., both at the Church of Saint Mary in Le Center. Private interment will be held at a later date in the Greenwood Union Cemetery in Le Center. 

Arrangements are with the Le Center Funeral Home. 507-357-6116. Online condolences may be left at www.lecenterfuneralhome.com
 
 

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