Passed Away - Delbert Martin Lorenzen

Delbert M. Lorenzen

October 12, 1912 - March 12, 2010
Of Sac City, formerly of Schaller, Iowa.

Visitation: Sunday, 1:00-3:00 p.m. March 14, 2010 at Farber & Otteman Funeral Home in Sac City.

Funeral Service: Monday, 10:30 a.m., March 15, 2010 at United Methodist Church in Sac City.

Interment: Following the service March 15, 2010 at Schaller Cemetery.

Delbert Martin Lorenzen, age 97, of Sac City, formerly of Schaller, Iowa, passed away on Friday, March 12, 2010, at Loring Hospital in Sac City. Delbert Martin Lorenzen, the son of Detlef and Nettie (Bennett) Lorenzen, was born on October 12, 1912, in Brookings, South Dakota. In the early days, he and his family lived in South Dakota and Montana before moving to Schaller, Iowa. Just after that move in 1921, Detlef died, when Delbert was only nine years old. Like most farm families, when the father dies all those children remaining at home help out on the farm.

Some years later in 1936, Delbert, Clifford McQuigg, Willis Bennett and the Wallace brothers left their farms to travel west. Delbert had a 1935 Ford 2-door (without a trunk) that they all rode in up through Missoula, Montana. The Wallace brothers decided to stay there; Willis caught a bus for Los Angeles, CA, while Delbert and Clifford continued to drive west. The next stop was in Washington State where they picked apples and pears.

Delbert finally ended up in a small town of San Ardo, California, where he worked on a vegetable farm. He was doing so well that he sent for Elaine Woodke, a sister of one of his best friends, and once she arrived in California they were married in Reno, Nevada. For the first few years they lived in Portland, Oregon, where their only son Kenneth was born. They moved back to Iowa only to return to southern California. Once again, they tried Portland, Oregon where they owned a shoe shop. Not really happy there, they moved back to southern California for the sun and warm weather.

Always good with his hands and being a problem solver, he had a knack for fixing things using his “MacGyvering” skills. He worked for McKenzie Company, a small family business as a Service Technician repairing various office machines (mostly duplicators) for 30 years. Once the company moved, he went into business for himself doing the same work for 12 years, retiring when he was 77 years old. They stayed in southern California until 1989, when Delbert and Elaine decided that California was becoming to crowded, too much traffic, and just too expensive to live, so they moved to a much slower paced life in Sac City, Iowa. A competitive spirit, Delbert loved baseball (Dodgers) and was even the Assistant Coach for Kenneth’s Little League team. He also enjoyed playing cards, especially Canasta where his skills and luck were obvious. He also had a helpful side. Over the years there were many neighbors and friends who benefited from his handyman skills and hard work ethic. There were many projects that would not have been completed if he had not helped out. He also loved his garden and gardening in general. In California his house looked like a park with perfect grass and of course lots of flowers. Besides the peach and plum trees, he even had to have a little patch of dirt set aside for his strawberries, really big strawberries. Once they moved back to Sac City and now finally retired, the vegetable garden grew in size. Elaine canned what she could, but they gave away more than they kept. Elaine passed away in 1999 after 63 years of marriage.

Grateful for having shared his life are his son, Kenneth Lorenzen, his wife Bonnie, their daughter Becky Hansen, her husband Curtis, and their two daughters, Reagan Hansen and Emerson Hansen, all of whom now live in Raleigh, North Carolina. Delbert was preceded in death by his parents, brothers Howard, Ted, Roy, Frank, and Clifford; sisters Florence, Myrtle, Dorothy, and Edna.

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