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Glen Royce West

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Services celebrating the life of Glen Royce West, of Albany, took place on Monday, December 9, 2024, at Immanuel Lutheran Church, Albany. Interment was at Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery – Camp Ripley, Little Falls. Glen was called to his heavenly home on Tuesday, December 3, 2024, at the age of 88.
Glen Royce West began his earthly life on June 23, 1936, in Eagle Bend, MN to Ralph and Josephine (Christiansen) West. He grew up on a farm that was short on machinery and long on work. It seemed to Glen that it was hard to grow anything other than rocks. Many stories were told of climbing trees and walking through the field to their grandparents’ house or neighbors.
He asked Willmar Ellig, their milk-truck driver if he had a daughter that would like to go out on a date with him. Audrey volunteered and the rest was history. They were married less than a year after they met on December 27, 1958, at the Lutheran Church in Bertha. They started their married life in Little Falls until he was drafted into the Army and spent two years at Fort Ord in Salinas, California. After many moves, with each child being born in a different city, they settled in Sauk Centre, MN where all the kids graduated high school. They then moved to Avon and lived there until moving into assisted living at Mother of Mercy in Albany.
Glen worked at Kraft for many years as a Chief Boilerman. He also started Glen’s Plumbing and Heating in Sauk Centre and did that full time for some time until going back again to Kraft. Glen and Audrey loved to travel with their truck and camper and spent many winters in Mission, Texas, and countless other camping trips. Glen was always working on something, fixing anything and everything, helping his kids or friends with plumbing, and he especially enjoyed washing and waxing his vehicles. He loved bringing the grandkids to Middle Spunk Lake with a can of corn and a fishing rod. In his older years, his happiest time was sitting outside in the warm weather, with a bag of candy and a can of Diet Coke.
Glen is survived by his children, Richard (Sarah) West of Elk River, Kimberly (Jerry) Fritz of Avon, Glenna (Mark) Kalahar of Rochester, and Sandra (Randy) Klaphake of Albany; his grandchildren, Richard (Megan) Fritz, Mitch (Natalie) Kalahar, Andrew Fritz, Kelsi Kalahar, Brianna West, Autumn Olson, Blaine Olson, and Rikayla West. He also has one great-grandson, Ryan Fritz, along with his brother, Chandler (Alyce), and sisters, Darlene Bodle, Joyce (Willis) Ellig, and Valva (Jim) Carlson.
Glen was preceded in death by his parents, wife Audrey in July of 2020, son-in-law Todd Olson, brothers Dallas, Duane, Dean, and Winston West, sister-in-law Yvonne West, and brother-in-law Pat Bodle.