LeRoy Hoppe

LeRoy Hoppe, age 88 of Melrose, passed away peacefully on Friday, May 27, 2016 at the CentraCare Health Nursing Home in Melrose, Minnesota.
A Mass of Christian Burial was held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, June 1 at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in New Munich with Rev. Dan Walz officiating and Rev. Ken Thielman concelebrating. Interment was in the parish cemetery with military honors by the Melrose Veterans Honor Guard.
LeRoy Bernard Hoppe was born March 11, 1928 in Oak Township, Stearns County, Minnesota to Mathias and Catherine (Nathe) Hoppe. He grew up on a farm near New Munich and was the oldest of six children. LeRoy enlisted in the Coast Guard in 1952 and transferred to the Army in 1954, spending two years at Fort Bliss, Texas. Before going into the service he met Jeanette Thielen, and when he returned home they were married at the Immaculate Conception Church in New Munich on June 25, 1957.They lived in New Munich for 10 years before moving the family back out to the home farm. LeRoy worked alongside of farming doing construction, drove school bus, and worked the longest for Worms Lumber Co. in New Munich until he retired in 1990. LeRoy’s hobbies included baseball, fishing, traveling, camping out at the lake, and his most enjoyable was deer hunting. After his stroke in 1998 LeRoy continued to enjoy going out to baseball games, rides out in the country, and visiting the farm.
He was a member of Immaculate Conception Church, St. Joseph’s Men’s Society, and the St. Leo Court 786 Catholic Order of Foresters.
Survivors include his wife of 58 years, Jeanette Hoppe; children, Greg Hoppe and his wife Karen of Big Lake, AK, Shelly Wiechmann and husband Rick of Melrose, Brenda Fontenot and her husband Vern of Pine River, Dave Hoppe of Wasilla, AK, Tim Hoppe of Freeport, Lisa Uphoff and her husband Jeff of Prior Lake, and Joe Hoppe and his wife Barb of St. Rosa; brother and sisters, Rich Hoppe and his wife Flossie of New Munich, Etheline Spanier of Paynesville, and Mary Krueger and her husband Daniel of New Munich; and 11 grandchildren.
LeRoy was preceded in death by his parents; brother, Celestine Hoppe, sister, Kathleen Hoppe, sister-in-law, Marion Hallermann and brother-in-law, Melvin Spanier.
Arrangements were made with Patton-Schad Funeral & Cremation Services of Melrose.