Wallace “Wally” W. Himlie, 88, of Rushford, Minn., died on Wednesday, September 7, 2016, at Valley View Healthcare and Rehab Center in Houston, Minn.
Wally was born on May 16, 1928, in rural Peterson, Minn., to Lars and Mina (Ferden) Himlie. He was raised on the family farm and attended country school and was a 1946 graduate of Rushford High School. On December 2, 1950, he was united in marriage with Arleen Bratberg at the Rushford Lutheran Parsonage. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean Conflict from 1951 to 1953. Wally worked with his dad, Lars for a few years as a contractor. In 1955, Wally along with his brother, George started Himlie Brothers Construction Company. George died in 1976, and Wally had been the sole proprietor of the company from then until the time of his death. In 1997, Wally was voted business person of the year by the Rushford Business Association and was a nominee for Mr. Rushford in 2005. Wally’s hobbies included:woodworking, auctions, antiquing, antique clubs, Rushford history, and maintaining his hobby farm. He was a member of Rushford Lutheran Church, Rushford Area Historical Society, Rushford Area Business Association, Rushford Lions, and the Rushford American Legion of which he was a past commander.
Wally is survived by his four children: Darrell (May) Himlie of Rushford, Roxanne (Darrel) Evenson of Houston, Minn.; Kyle (Jaime) Himlie of Peterson, Minn.; and Leslie (Chris) Quella of Peterson, Minn,; eight grandchildren: Brian, Tina, Jeremy, Dustin, Nicole, Krista, Jayden, and Justin; seven great-grandchildren: Torin, Tayla, Kaitlyn, Connor, Ashley, Christopher, and Miyana; and by one great-great-granddaughter, Adela. Wally was so proud of all of his grandchildren and of the five generations of his family. He was also survived by one brother, Vince Himlie of Shelton, Wash., and a sister-in-law, Velma Himlie of Rushford.
He was preceded in death by his parents, wife, three sisters, six brothers, and one grandson, Brandon Kingsley.
There will be a memorial service for Wally at 11 a.m. on Monday, September 12, at Rushford Lutheran Church, with the Rev. Roger Michaelson officiating. Visitation will be 4-7 p.m. on Sunday at Hoff Funeral and Cremation Service in Rushford and one hour prior to the service on Monday at the Church. Burial will take place at a later date at the Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery in Preston, Minn.
The family prefers memorials directed to the Rushford Area Historical Society.
Leave a memory of Wally and sign his online guestbook at www.hofffuneral.com .