- Date Of Birth: April 30, 1928
- Date Of Death: April 22, 2016
- State: Iowa
Francis Erpelding, age 87, of Burt, passed away on Friday, April 22, 2016, at the Kossuth Regional Health Center in Algona. Francis John Erpelding was born on April 30, 1928, to John and Amanda (Ernst) Erpelding at home in West Bend. He graduated from St. Joseph High School in 1945. Francis was drafted into the United States Army and served during the Korean War. On June 18, 1957, he was united in marriage to Mildred Hellman at St. John’s Catholic Church in Bancroft.
Francis and Mildred lived and farmed near Burt. Francis retired from farming in 1990. He also worked at Pioneer part-time for 20+ years. Francis was a member of St. Cecelia Catholic Church in Algona, the Knights of Columbus, Burt VFW, Algona American Legion and the Burt Lions Club. He enjoyed following the Minnesota Twins, Hawkeye basketball, playing cribbage, 500, solitaire, solving word find puzzles, farming and driving around and checking on the fields. Spending time with his kids and grandkids was important to him. Also, from 1967 to 2014, Army reunions were held and he was proud to have been able to have attended all of them. In past years, Francis and Mildred enjoyed traveling around the U.S. on bus trips. He participated in the Honor Flight in 2013 and was honored to be the Burt Parade King in 2015.
He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Mildred of Burt; children: Linda (Dave) Salz of West Des Moines and their children Jason (Sarah) and Heather (Kyle), Betty (James) Underwood of Des Moines, Tom Erpelding of Burt, Gary (Stacy) Erpelding of Bode and their children Joseph, Bradley and Brandon, Nancy (Bob) Quade of Mason City and their children Eric, Kelly (Tyler) and Emily, Kay (Dwight) Bruns of Hanlontown and their children Justin and Cody and Randy Erpelding of Lone Rock; a brother, Gerald (Helen) Erpelding of West Des Moines; a sister, Marguerite (Frank) Brcka of Plymouth and a sister-in-law, Gloria Erpelding of Grapevine, Texas. Francis was preceded in death by his parents; a brother, Harold Erpelding; and two sisters, Angela Frideres and Mae Tigges.
