Fred Kovall

Frederick A. Kovall, age 80, of Willmar, died Saturday evening, Jan. 21, at Rice Memorial Hospital in Willmar
Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 28, at the Church of St. Mary in Willmar. Interment will be in the church cemetery. Visitation will be from 4-6 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 27, at the Peterson Brothers Funeral Home in Willmar and will continue for one hour prior to the service at the church on Saturday. In lieu of flowers, memorials to the Ridgewater College Scholarship Fund are preferred. www.petersonbrothers.com
Frederick "Fred" Anthony Kovall was born on September 3, 1936, in Ely, Minnesota, the son of Frank and Helen (Evanish) Kovall. He grew up in Ely and Crosby, graduated from Crosby-Ironton High School in 1954 and attended the Willmar Community College and Southwest State University. On January 5, 1957, Fred was united in marriage to Joanne Lucile Nichols and they made their home in Crosby. In 1958, they moved to Owatonna and in 1971 they moved to Willmar. Fred was employed with MN DOT for over 41 years, retiring in 1999 as the District #8 Maintenance Supervisor. Fred also served for 11 years with the MN National Guard. He was a member of the Church of St. Mary and served as a Eucharist Minister. Fred was a true believer in education. He earned his Masters degree in Business Administration at the age of 60. He was a "Fred-of all-trades". Family and friends would come to him to ask for help and fix whatever it was that needed repair. His hobbies included hunting, photography, painting, music, woodworking and raising and selling many Christmas trees during the holiday season. Fred , Joanne and family enjoyed traveling to Chicago to visit relatives and the many museums there.
He is survived by his loving wife of over 60 years, Joanne of Willmar; five children, Fred (and Jessie) Kovall of Sartell, Rita (and Jeff) Pattison of Spicer, Kevin (and Katy) Kovall of Madison, WI., Theresa (and Dave) Schlenker of Marine on St. Croix and Nichole (and Todd) Rens of Dayton; twelve grandchildren, Kim (and Kelly) Manseau, Amy Kovall, Billy (and Sarah) Pattison, Michael (and Linze) Pattison, Annie (and Fernando) Pattison-Mier, Tony Kovall, Nika Kovall, Tori Kovall, Will Kovall, Mac Schlenker, Ethan Rens and Linnea Rens; and four great grandchildren, Marshall, Molly, Noah and Olivia Pattison. Also surviving is one sister-in-law, Cherie (and Dan) McMahon of Edina and one brother, Daniel (and Sue) Kovall of Nevada, besides other relatives and friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents and two brothers, Frank and John Kovall.

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