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Allen H. Glessing, 77, of Waverly, MN, passed away peacefully at his home Friday, Sept. 8, 2023.
Funeral services took place at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023, at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Buffalo, MN. Pastor Ryan Clark officiated.
Visitation took place from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday, Sept. 11, 2023, at Chilson Funeral Home in Winsted, MN, as well as at the church one hour prior to the service.
Allen Henry Glessing was born April 18, 1946, in Cokato, MN, to Maurice and Eva (Dehnbostel) Glessing. He was baptized into the Christian faith at St. James Lutheran Church May 12, 1946, by Rev. Theodore Melinat and confirmed in that faith April 10, 1980, by Rev. G.C. Michael.
Allen graduated from Howard Lake High School in 1964 and went on to work on the family farm in rural Howard Lake, only taking a short time away to enlist in the National Guard. He returned home and continued to farm with his father.
He was united in marriage Nov. 27, 1971, to Sandy Meline, and this union was blessed by two children: Nicole and Daniel.
Allen married Sharon (Bodin) Davidson Nov. 18, 1995. This union brought together two families and many years of happiness.
Allen continued his farming with his son, only slowing down when years of hard work caught up with his body, but always supervising whenever he could.
Allen’s life focused on faith, family, and farming. From a young boy until the end of his life, God was at the center of Allen’s life. He served for many years as a St. James Lutheran Church trustee as well as on the cemetery board.
In recent years, he was a member of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Buffalo, where he would leave at the end of the service with a happy heart. He would tell anyone who would listen that they should try attending a service “just once” to see if they liked it, which subsequently worked on many. Allen and Sharon could be found in ‘their’ pew well before the service started, ready to worship.
Allen’s family was the most important thing to him. He found the love of his life in Sharon, and would tell everyone that he was lucky to have found her.
They had a busy 27.5 years together, and their life included things such as trips to Branson, MO, to enjoy shows, local fish fries on Fridays during lent, relaxing on their deck, and taking “dirty rides” in their barn clothes after chores to check out crops and whatever other neighborhood news could be gathered from the seat on the Gator. Whatever they did, they enjoyed doing it as long as they were together.
Allen was a great father to Dan and Nicole. In their youth, he allowed them to drive toy tractors on his back when it really was a back massage for him, would take a swim with them after chores in the stock tank he turned into a pool, and looked with pride as they became successful adults with families.
Allen’s pride and joy were his grandchildren. He loved watching them in school programs, church programs, or at sporting events, but he especially loved watching them show animals at the county fair.
In his younger years, Allen was an adult 4-H leader. Later, he was the chair of the 4-H Dairy Show Arena Committee, so he was especially happy when each of his grandkids participated in 4-H in the show ring that he helped build. He enjoyed watching the competition, visiting with friends in the stands, and grabbing a foot-long hot dog with all of the ‘junk’ as a snack.
He was able to watch one last dairy show at the Wright County Fair this year as he took his scooter from the nursing home across the railroad tracks and onto the fairgrounds. He was ready to go at 3 a.m., but unfortunately the staff wouldn’t let him leave quite that early.
In his last weeks, he was also able to watch as his grandsons participated in the dairy show at the state fair and his granddaughter ran for Princess Kay of the Milky Way, all via a livestream.
Allen was a farmer through and through. His favorite part was the view from the tractor seat where he had spent countless hours doing what he loved over the years. Even in his last days, he was counting the rows of kernels on an ear of corn and tested a kernel with his teeth, just as he had done for 60 years.
He was an avid Case IH fan, and loved watching the red “smokers” beat the green ones at tractor pulls.
He was also very involved with farming programs off the farm over the years, having served on the Wright County Extension Committee, C&H Board of Directors, Glencoe Co-op Board, and as the Wright County Farm Bureau President, AMPI District president and director, and a lifetime member of the FFA Alumni. He was also a charter member of the HLWW FFA Alumni, and recently attended his 59th consecutive FFA awards banquet.
Allen was honest and loyal with a side of sarcasm thrown in, and you always knew where you stood with him. His passing has left a hole in our hearts, and he will be missed dearly.
Allen is survived by his loving wife, Sharon; children, Nicole Hills of Monticello, MN, and Dan (Seena) Glessing of Waverly; step-children, Rod Davidson of Buffalo, Teri (Sean) Diercks of Buffalo, and Kevin Davidson of South Haven, MN; grandchildren, Katherine and Alex Hills of Monticello, and Wyatt, Mason, Tanner, and Cora Glessing of Waverly; step-grandchildren, Cami Davidson (special friend Ryan) of Howard Lake, MN, and Mandi Davidson (special friend Josh) of Buffalo, Travis (Kayla) Fieber of Buffalo, and Trent Davidson of Hinckley; as well as five great step-grandchildren; former wife, Sandy; many brothers and sisters-in-law, friends, and relatives.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Maurice and Eva Glessing; in-laws, Elmer and Esther Meline and Clarence and Fern Bodin; and step-grandson, Taylor Fieber.
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