Raymond E. Bollweg, 87, of rural Canton, died Wednesday, July 1, 2026, at the Gundersen Harmony Care Center in Harmony.
Ray was born on September 3, 1938, in Wheaton, Illinois, to Edward and Anna (Schoemann) Bollweg. He grew up in Wheaton and worked as a mechanic while he attended and graduated from Wheaton High School. Ray was always good with numbers, so he attended North Central College for a couple years considering a career in engineering. However, he decided college wasn’t for him, and not to complete his degree and started hauling oil locally for Wageman Oil. On May 14, 1960, he married Gretchen Weinheimer in Wheaton and started their family.
Ray started building his interest in farming by helping a local farmer and then buying some land where they built a house, a barn, raised three horses and grew hay. They decided they wanted to farm fulltime, but land in Illinois was expensive – so, they bought a farm and moved to Canton, Minnesota, in 1973. They milked cows, raised hogs and chickens, and grew crops. Starting in 1990, Ray gradually retired from farming, selling the cows and eventually renting the land. He started driving truck again, hauling grain for the Harmony Elevator, and then rock for Pederson Brothers. He later drove for Viesman Milk Hauling and sold insurance for 40 years before fully retiring in 2020.
Ray was a member of the Assumption Catholic Church and loved farming, trains, and hanging out with his grandkids.
He is survived by his wife Gretchen, children Linda Schimming, Raymond “Dan” (Jody), Rebecca Peterson, and Nick (Denise); grandchildren Mark Schimming, Emily Mulcrone, Allison Schimming, Chris Bollweg, Grace Carroll-Bollweg, Sheena Tollefson, Adam Suckow, Meretta Peterson, Lauren Braun, Nicholas “Cole” Bollweg, and Rheanne Bollweg; and 12 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, son-in-law Mike Schimming, and two sisters, Mary Anne Davis and Margaret Futch.
Mass of Christian Burial will be at noon, Tuesday, July 7 at the Assumption Catholic Church in Canton. Burial will be in the Calvary Cemetery in Canton. Visitation will be 10 a.m. to noon prior to the service at the church. The Mengis Funeral Home in Mabel is assisting with arrangements.
Leave a Reply