George William Claussen was born June 16, 1918, to John and Frieda (Riekens) Claussen, on a farm south of Creston, Nebraska. They lived there until moving to Creston when John retired. George was baptized and confirmed at St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Creston, Nebraska. He attended country school and graduated from the Creston High School in 1935. After graduation, George, along with friends Earl and Gordon Barrett, went to west central Minnesota to work on the threshing crews. On September 14, 1940, George was united in marriage to Jennie Lee in rural DeGraff by Reverend Nesheim. This union was blessed with seven children. They lived on a farm in Woods Township, rural Raymond, until about 1945 when they moved to the John Bosch farm in Grace Township. They farmed there until the early 1980's. On January 30, 1986, George married Elsa A. (Maus) Johnson. They lived in Benson and spent a number of winters in Mesa, Arizona and California. Elsa passed away on April 10, 2009. George loved to travel. He traveled from coast to coast. He loved to drive out in the country to check on the crops. He was happy to be able to drive until he was 94 years old. George farmed for 70 years in Minnesota and was very proud of being able to drive the tractor until his 90th birthday. He liked to listen to country music and loved dancing to old time music, and watching "Polka Time". George was called from this life on Wednesday, January 22, 2014, at the Golden Living Center - Meadow Lane in Benson, Minnesota. He attained the age of 95 years, 7 months and 6 days. George is survived by his first wife, Jennie, and children: Beatrice (Richard) Olsen of Benson, Delores (Ed Anderson) Walstrom of New London, Robert (Helen) Claussen of Benson, Steven (Kathy) Claussen of Glenwood, Stanley (Katherine) Claussen of Montevideo, Ronald (Mary) Claussen of Montevideo, and Karen (Greg) Pavel of Lindstrom; step-children: Eugene (Yvonne) Johnson of New Brighton, Dennis Johnson of Forest Lake, David (Carol) Johnson of Chisago City, Gary (Susan) Johnson of Tyler, and Mark (Janalee) Johnson of Minneapolis; numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren; sister, Bernice (Dewey) Foster of Neptune Beach, Florida; sister-in-law, Patricia Claussen of Omaha, Nebraska; and many nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, John and Frieda Claussen; wife, Elsa Claussen; brother, Alvin Claussen; niece, Jamie Claussen; and nephew, David Claussen.
