ROCHESTER -- The funeral for Verl Otto Schacht will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at Redeemer Lutheran Church, with the Revs. John Schleicher and James Heining co-officiating. Burial will be in Grandview Memorial Gardens.
Mr. Schacht, 89, of Rochester, a retired letter carrier and award-winning dahlia grower, died Monday morning (July 7, 2003) at Saint Marys Hospital.
Born April 27, 1914, in Hammond, he attended Hammond public schools through one year of high school and graduated from Rochester High School in 1932. While in high school, he and his brother established daily Post-Bulletin delivery service to Hammond. In his early years, he cut ice from the Zumbro River and fence posts from local woods, and he worked on clearing for the Alma Dam. He owned and operated a portable feed mill in the Rochester area and for 38 years delivered mail in Rochester. In June 1937 he married Violet M. Siewert. She died June 6, 1970. On March 5, 1973, he married Ella G. Winch Springmire at the Little Brown Church in Nashua, Iowa, and she also preceded him in death.
One of the top dahlia growers in the country, he shipped them worldwide. He was grand champion dahlia grower in Minnesota for several years, a certified dahlia judge for many years and a life member of the Minnesota Dahlia Society and received the Minnesota State Horticulture Society's Merit Award. Mr. Schacht was a member of the Rochester Flower &; Garden Club for more than 60 years, the NALC for 65 years and NARFE for 35 years. He was a charter member of Redeemer Lutheran Church and enjoyed fishing. In his younger years, he played baseball and fast pitch softball.
Survivors include a son, Allen "Al" (Judy) of Hammond; a daughter, Sharon (Wayne) Holz of Naples, Fla.; seven grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; two sisters, Edith Schacht of Lake City and Alice Trainor of West Palm Beach, Fla.; and a brother, Kenneth (Beulah) of Arden Hills, Minn. A sister preceded him in death.
ADVERTISEMENT
Friends may call from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday at Ranfranz &; Vine Funeral Homes and an hour before the service Saturday at the church.
Memorials are suggested to Redeemer Lutheran Church Foundation.
