CHATFIELD -- The funeral for Merle Eldor Bothun will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Chatfield, with the Rev. Preston Paul officiating. Burial will be in the church cemetery with military graveside rites by the Chatfield VFW.
Mr. Bothun, 80, of Chatfield, died Sunday (July 20, 2003) at Chosen Valley Care Center in Chatfield, where he had lived six months.
Born Aug. 12, 1922, in Fillmore County, he graduated from Chatfield High School in 1940 and served in the Army Air Forces during World War II. He was a tail gunner on B-17s over Europe and received a medal from the French government for his missions over Normandy. Mr. Bothun worked at Postier &; Eggers in Rochester for 15 years, was a substitute mail carrier in Chatfield, was an auto mechanic and did fencing. He was a member of the Chatfield VFW.
Survivors include two brothers, Elroy (Doris) of Babbitt, Minn., and Dale (Leila) of Mazeppa; and two sisters, Avis (Norman) Skrukrud and Shirley (Orvis) Johnson, both of Chatfield. Two sisters and three brothers preceded him in death.
Friends may call from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. today at Riley Funeral Home in Chatfield and an hour before the service Wednesday at the church.
