August William Grothe

August William Grothe, 89, of Benson, died on Sunday morning, March 1, 2020, at the Swift County Benson Hospital. Visitation will be held from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm on Thursday, March 5, 2020 at the Our Redeemer’s Lutheran Church in Benson and continue from 10:00 am to 11:00 am on Friday, March 6, followed by the funeral service at 11:00 am. Interment will be held at the Benson City Cemetery following the service. Zniewski Funeral Home of Benson is in charge of the funeral arrangements.

August William Grothe was born on March 1, 1931, in Benson, Minnesota, the son of Walter Frederick and Elsie Hannah Clara Herrmann Grothe. He grew up in Swift County and graduated from Benson High School.  On July 3, 1952, August was united in marriage to Joanne Gertrude Vinge. This union was blessed with over 60 years of marriage. They were longtime dairy farmers and had farms in Swift and Pope Counties. He worked hauling cattle from 1990 to 2013 and especially looked forward to helping the 4H kids get their livestock to the local fairs. He was passionate about animals, horses, cows, conservation, and wildlife.

August modeled a strong Faith and was proud to say he was a member of Our Redeemer’s Lutheran Church since the age of 15. He thoroughly enjoyed his time serving the church as an usher. He was a member of AMPI Board of Directors and the American Milk Producers Inc. He believed in supporting kids in 4-H. He enjoyed gardening, flowers, and dancing.  He loved spending time with his family and spent his lifetime supporting his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren by attending all of their sporting, musical performances, and other events. He was called from this life on Sunday morning, March 1, at the Swift County Benson Hospital. He attained the age of 89 years.

August is survived by his daughters Julie (Peter Wayne) Grothe of Minneapolis, Janice (Charles) Lee of Hilllsboro, OR, Jeanine (Jon) Bowman of Sunburg; a son, Steven (Kristi) Grothe of Starbuck; 17 grandchildren; Christopher, Billie-Marie, Danielle, Shannon, Tracy, Daniel, Nicole, Stephanie, Jennifer, Steven II, Kacy, Jesse, Alexander, Tess, Cassandra, Austen, and Rachael; 30 great grandchildren; sisters Dorothea Nelson of Willmar and RoseMarie Monson of Alexandria, several nieces, nephews,  and other relatives and friends. He is preceded in death by his wife Joanne in 2013, his parents Walter and Elsie, sons William Grothe and Mark Grothe, his brothers Walter Grothe and Robert Grothe, and a sister Elsie Danielson. Blessed be his memory.