Harold Edward Hassing

Harold Edward Hassing, age 94, of Blue Earth, MN, surrounded by his family, passed away on Saturday, October 14, 2023 at St. Mary’s Mayo Clinic Hospital in Rochester, MN.  Funeral services will be held at 11:00 am on Monday, October 23, 2023 at SS Peter & Paul Catholic Church in Blue Earth, MN.  Visitation will be held at the church prior to the funeral from 9:00 am to 10:45 am.  Burial, with military honors, will take place at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Cemetery, rural Easton, MN.

Harold was born May 13, 1929, in Barber Township (Minnesota) to Joseph ‘Joe’ and Monica (Sereda) Hassing.  He attended Delavan High School, graduating in 1947. Harold then joined the United States Army, stationed in Heidelberg, Germany and then onto Paris, France, as a Cryptographic Specialist in the Army Signal Corps Coding & Decoding Department for the United States Pentagon.  On June 11, 1955, Harold married Lorraine Mary Rauenhorst at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church in Easton, MN.  Harold retired from the US Postal Service after many years of employment.   He also was a DeKalb seed corn sales representative for many years.  He was a member of the Lions Club in Blue Earth for over 28 years, 11 of those years as Treasurer.  He was presented the Lions Club International Foundation’s Melvin Jones Fellow Award for Dedicated Humanitarian Services.  Harold was also a member of the Knights of Columbus for 53 years, a member of the American Legion Post 89 and a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Harold and Lorraine were extensive travelers. They traveled to many parts of the United States and throughout Europe.  A special memorable European trip was made to revisit Harold’s places of military service in Germany and France.  Harold enjoyed woodworking projects specifically for his grandchildren, be it an ornate dollhouse, a rocking horse, a barn, just to name a few.  For many years Harold enjoyed painting sets for the Blue Earth Winter Wonderland.  He enjoyed oil painting.  His landscapes and farm scenes paintings have been treasured keepsakes by family members for decades.  After retirement from the Postal Service, Harold’s new ‘job’ became a genealogist.  Decades of research were spent delving into his and Lorraine’s family genealogy, now dating back to the 1700’s.  Never to shy away from any building or home maintenance project, Harold was indeed the master of the jack-of-all-trades.  He would try to build it first, or try and fix it first, before asking for additional help. And most every time, he built it or fixed it himself.  Harold was indeed a man of many talents.

Left to cherish his memory are his loving wife, Lorraine, of 68 years; Children, Barbara (Jay) Ankeny of Blue Earth, MN, Debra (Jeff) Matthews of Burnsville, MN, Mark (Vicki) Hassing of Blue Earth, MN, Glenn Hassing of Blue Earth, MN, Paula (David) Schaefer of Blue Earth, MN, Bryan Hassing (Genevieve McJilton) of Deephaven, MN;

Grandchildren, Kristin (Andrew) Flatness, Lindsay Matthews, Jennifer Ankeny, Jason Matthews, Jordan (Brandi) Hassing, Jacob (Kayla) Hassing, Malissa (Marcus) Mittelstadt, Allison Matthews, Laura Schaefer, Jared Hassing and Kyle Schaefer; Great-Grandchildren, Zachary, Charlie, Laila, Beckett, and Alex; family friends Terri Burns and her granddaughters Bailee and Bethanee; brother in-law and sisters in-law, Florence Hassing, Millie Miller, Evie Thielen, and Raymond (Sharon) Rauenhorst; and many nieces, nephews, and friends.

Preceding him in death are his parents; great-grandson, Jack Andrew Flatness; siblings and spouses – Don (Mary Hassing Paul), Victoria, Alice Stencel (Norbert), Lawrence (Marion), Nicholas, Gordon (Dallas), Jerome;  brothers-in-law - Lt. j.g. Leo Rauenhorst, Richard Miller, and Thomas Thielen.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a donation in memory of Harold Hassing to the Minnesota Lions Club Vision Foundation – Macular Degeneration Research, 1000 Westgate Drive, Suite 260, St. Paul, MN 55114