RONALD DIRK MENTJES
RONALD DIRK MENTJES, 82, died on March 11, 2025. He was born March 31, 1942, the fifth child of William and Theresa Marie (Pretzsch) Mentjes in Cordova Township, Le Sueur County. He was baptized and confirmed in the St. Paul Lutheran Church. At the age of seven, Ron planted his first tree and his legacy is more than 10,000 trees and shrubs that he planted to shelter the houses and the barns. While attending McKinley High School, Le Center, MN, he joined the FFA. Ron entered the Army in Oct. 1961 and was sent to Germany for three years where he did welding and blacksmithing earning the status of SP4 E4.
He married Carol Zellmer from Elysian Township in 1968. They purchased his parent’s farm and raised cattle, hogs and chickens. They later divorced. Reading and learning was a goal of Ron. He also attended a class on improving his farming practices. Because of his chemical-free farming, Ron enjoyed the wildlife on the property. He put into practice crop rotation and planted red clover ground cover between corn rows long before it became a current practice in agriculture. Ron wanted to leave the earth a better place.
Ron met and married Katherine Zachariason in 1983, of Lake Park, MN, an elementary librarian in the Waseca School System.
Because he enjoyed gardening, in 1999 Ron drove to the U of MN Experiment Station, Waseca, to learn more about gardening, trees and shrubs, and earned a Master Gardener certificate. Ron received his twenty year pin from the MN Extension. He always planted potatoes around his birthday! He also grew primroses, iris, and marigolds, along with a multitude of trees and shrubs. Later in life, Ron and Kathy traveled on bus tours in the US and Canada.
Ron was a long time member of the American Legion and joined the Color Guard to honor the soldiers who served our great country. He attended church weekly. Ron was 35+ years in sobriety and was a 90+ pint donor of blood to the American Red Cross.
Ron leaves his wife, Kathy, his children, Mark (Shawn) Mentjes, Ronald W. (Nicole) Mentjes, Ursula (Timothy) Bartram, and Anna (Matthew) Bukowski; his grandchildren, Cassandra Mentjes, Derek Mentjes, T Mentjes, Logan Mentjes, Lucca Bartram, and Wilhelm Bukowski; and many nieces and nephews. Preceding Ron in death are his parents, his sisters – Esther (Henry)Vyskocil, Margaret (Noel) Quiram, Elinor (Robert) Richter, and Rosemary (Charles)Brauneis.
Visitation will be held from 4-7 p.m. on Thursday, March 13, 2025 at the Le Center Chapel of Schoenbauer Funeral Homes. A private funeral service will be held and interment will follow at Gorman Lake Cemetery. In lieu of plants and bouquets, send memorials to the Le Center American Legion or VFW, the Le Sueur County Master Gardeners, Cannonville Community Church of Elysian, the St. Paul Lutheran Church of Le Center, or Moments Hospice of Mankato.
