William “Bill” E. Fest was born on September 4, 1930, in Windom, Minnesota. His parents were Benita (Fest) and Emil Christopherson. Bill was a member of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Heron Lake and attended Sacred Heart Catholic School through 8th grade and graduated from Heron Lake Public High School. In December of 1950, Bill enlisted in the US Navy and served on the USS Weiss APD 135 with Company 189 in the Korean War. In June of 1952, Bill was granted a medical discharge and came back to live on the home place where he farmed.
Bill was united in marriage to Marilyn Hartman on May 21, 1960, at the St. Kilian Catholic Church in St. Kilian, MN. They were blessed with four children, Kelly, Paul, Mark and Tom. After marriage, they farmed together on the home place. Besides his love of farming, Bill spent many hours tinkering, repairing and building in his shop, loved nature and worked hard to preserve it and loved to hunt, especially deer. He was a member of the North Heron Lake Game Producers (NHLGPA), who named him Man of the Year in 2007. He loved spending time with his grandchildren.
On April 15, 2012, he suffered a stroke. He returned home after the stroke to be close to family and farm life. In May of 2016, Bill’s health began to decline and he became a resident of the Good Samaritan Society-Sogge Memorial in Windom where he passed away on Friday evening, November 4, 2016, at the age of 86 years.
Bill enjoyed singing in the Sacred Heart Catholic Church choir and was a member of the Foresters. He also was a member of the Herbert K. Kellam American Legion Post #224 in Heron Lake where he was a past commander and over a sixty year member, on the board of directors of the MN Soybean Processers (MNSP), Heron Lake Elevator Board, and on the Equity Drive Committee for Bingham Lake Ethanol Plant.
Bill is survived by his wife, Marilyn Fest of Heron Lake; two children, Mark (Lisa) Fest of Heron Lake; Tom Fest of Heron Lake; six grandchildren, Aaron, Isaac, Abigail, Eli, Anna and Lydia Fest; two siblings, Jerry Christopherson (Deb) of Heron Lake; and Joyce Hurley of Champagne, IL; brother-in-law, Terry Bramel of Worthington; and several nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents; two sons, Kelly and Paul Fest; one sister, Judy Bramel; and an infant brother, Neil.
Blessed be the memory of William E. Fest.
A Mass of Christian Burial for William “Bill” E. Fest, age 86 of Heron Lake, will be at 10:30 AM on Wednesday, November 9th, 2016 at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Heron Lake with Father Patrick Arens officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery in Heron Lake with full military honors.
Visitation was held from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM on Tuesday, November 8th, 2016 at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Heron Lake with parish prayers at 7:00 PM. Visitation will continue for one hour prior to the service at the church on Wednesday.
Bill Fest passed away on Friday, November 4, 2016 at the Good Samaritan Society-Sogge Memorial in Windom.
Condolences can be sent online to: www.lacannefuneralhome.com.
Funeral arrangements are under the care of the LaCanne Family Funeral Service in Windom.
