Rodney "Joe" Hamann

Rodney “Joe” Hamann, age 72, of Holloway, passed away Friday, November 20, 2020, in Appleton Area Health-Care Center.  Visitation will be held from 2:00-3:30 p.m., followed by a memorial service at 3:30 p.m., Friday, December 4, 2020, at Trinity Lutheran Church, Fairfield Township.  Pastor Donald Klatt will officiate.  Joe will receive full military honors. A private family interment ceremony will be held at Fort Snelling National Cemetery at a later date.

Rodney Dean Hamann, known to most as “Joe”, was born May 8, 1948, to Roland and Ruth (Mesenbrink) Hamann in Benson, MN. He was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church, Fairfield, June 6, 1948, and was later confirmed there on May 13, 1962. Joe grew up on the family farm in rural Holloway. He attended country school, Holloway School and graduated from Appleton High School in 1966. After graduation, Joe attended Alexandria Area Technical School where he obtained an Associate’s Degree in Accounting. Joe was a lifelong member of Trinity Lutheran Church, Fairfield, in rural Holloway.

Joe was drafted for the Vietnam Conflict and enlisted in the Army on January 16, 1969. Joe served with Delta Company, 4 ^th Battalion, 9 ^th Infantry Regiment, 25 ^th Infantry Division while in Vietnam and returned home in August of 1970. After returning to the states, Joe joined the MN Army National Guard and commissioned as a Field Artillery Officer in 1971. He later transitioned to the US Army Reserves. Joe held many positions in the Field Artillery, including Recon-Survey Officer, Fire Direction Officer, Fire Support Officer, S2, Operations Officer, and Battery Commander. Joe retired from the US Armed Forces on May 21, 1996. He had 27 years of honorable service to his country and attained the rank of Major.

Joe received many awards throughout his military career including the Bronze Star Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Air Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Combat Infantryman Badge, Military Order of Saint Barbara, and multiple state awards.

After returning from Vietnam, Joe went to work for Federated Telephone Cooperative in the accounting department for several years. Following this position, Joe moved into farming with his father and brother, and in later years, driving truck both over-the-road and locally for various farmers. Joe thoroughly enjoyed snowmobiling, hunting and fishing and spent a great deal of his free time doing this in his younger years.

Joe was a proud Veteran and an avid supporter of the military. He proudly displayed his support in all that he did. He actively participated in the Freedom Support Group as a leader during the 2009-2010 deployment of the local National Guard unit, the 175 ^th Forward Support Company, of which his niece, Keely, was a deploying member. He was a member of VFW Post 4955 and AMVETS Post 151.

While Joe never married or had children of his own, he was very close with his nephew and nieces. He adored his great-nieces, Madison and Brooklyn, and was always eager to hear stories and accomplishments of all. He proudly boasted about his extended family to anyone and everyone that would listen.

Joe passed away November 20, 2020, at the Appleton Care Center. He had attained the age of 72 years. Joe is survived by his sisters, Lynette (Bob) Phenix of Inver Grove Heights and Denise (Jeff) Tomniczak of Champlin; sister-in-law Suzanne Hamann of Burnsville; nephew, Patrick (Valerie) Hamann of Appleton; nieces, Dena (Richard) Daly of Appleton, Keely Hamann of Lincoln, NE, Bailee (Cliff) Kaehler of Inver Grove Heights, Brianna Tomniczak of Otsego, and Kacie Tomniczak of Ramsey; and other relatives and friends.  He was preceded in death by his parents, Roland and Ruth Hamann; and brothers, David Hamann and Roger (“Sam”) Hamann.  Blessed be the memory of Rodney “Joe” Hamann.