Richard Engelhart, age 64, of Cresco, died Sunday morning, October 7, 2018, as the result of a traffic accident near Rushford, Minn. Funeral services will be 11 a.m. Friday, October 12, 2018, at the United Methodist Church in Lime Springs, with burial at a later date. Friends may call on Thursday from 4-7 p.m. at the Lindstrom Funeral Home in Cresco and on Friday at the church from 10 a.m. until time of services.
Richard Engelhart was born October 13, 1953, in Caledonia, Minn., to Ferd and Violet (Sheirff) Engelhart. He grew up and attended schools in the Houston and Rushford areas of Minnesota. He married Judy Miller on June 6, 1987; they later divorced. Early in his life he farmed with his family in southeast Minnesota. For many years he worked at Featherlite.
First in his life were his grandchildren, who he loved to talk about, then cars and the outdoors. He enjoyed Mopar Classic Cars; over the years he owned a Bel Air, a Thunderbird (which he called “thunder chicken”), a 1923 T-bucket, and most recently his pride and joy was his 1972 Plymouth Duster. Woodworking was a hobby of his and he made oak toy boxes for his grandchildren and boxes for neon bar signs. His artistic skills include his painting of the Cresco Skyline at Sunset that hangs in the library at Wartburg College.
Richard is survived by three children: Amber (Josh) Praska of Lime Springs, Frank (Nicole) Engelhart of New Hampton and Arielle Engelhart (and Carter Larson) of Cresco; 12 grandchildren: Kole, Kaylee, Allie, Matthew, Izabelle, Kaelen, Makayla, Ruger, Olivia (Wibby), Baker, Aria, and Blake, and a thirteenth on the way; his mother, Violet Fairbanks of Lime Springs; seven siblings: Gary Engelhart, Bob Engelhart, Bonnie O’Connor, Fred Engelhart, Sandy Munson, Dawn Fairbanks and Denise Fairbanks. Richard was preceded in death by his father, Ferd Engelhart; a brother, Steven Engelhart; a nephew, Allen Mundfrom, and four angel grand babies.