John Ras

John Ras, age 98, of Willmar, died Friday, June 5, at Rice Care Center in Willmar.

Funeral services will be 11:00 a.m. Monday, June 8, at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Willmar with Rev. David Rogers officiating. Interment will be in Hillside Cemetery in Kerkhoven. Visitation will be 4-6 p.m. Sunday at Peterson Brothers Funeral Home in Willmar and one hour prior to the service at the church.

John Ras was born June 4, 1911, in De Wilp, Groningen, the Netherlands, the son of Albert and Henrietta (Middle) Ras. His family immigrated to the United States on May 20, 1920, and settled in New Jersey. They later lived in Michigan and Montana before moving to Minnesota. On April 29, 1931, he married Elizabeth Schouten and they lived and farmed on John's farm near Crookston. John and Liz moved to Hancock, where John farmed and operated the Ras Service Station and later to Willmar, where John worked as an appliance repairman for Erickson's Furniture. They then lived in the Kerkhoven and Pennock communities, where John owned a blacksmith shop, worked for the Kerkhoven Fertilizer Plant and did custom combining. They retired in the 1990s and returned to Willmar. John had resided at Rice Care Center since 2002.

John attended Bethel Baptist Church in Kerkhoven and later Cornerstone Baptist Church in Willmar. He enjoyed fishing, camping, and playing games, especially cards and aggravation. He also enjoyed traveling with Liz, spending many winters in Texas, visiting relatives in Michigan and combining in many states. He enjoyed trading cars, boats and campers.

John loved being with his family and friends. He loved having visitors at the nursing home, especially his great-grandchildren. He would give the younger ones nickels that he earned playing bingo. He and his great-granddaughter Shannon would also practice counting in Dutch and sing "The Apple Tree Song." He loved the Lord and his family and will be greatly missed.

Most importantly, he loved his best sweetheart, Liz. They met when they were teenagers and he loved her until the day she died. He missed her so much and we know he is at peace in Heaven with his sweetheart and Jesus.

He is survived by his son: Dale (and Leila) Ras of Marion, South Dakota; his daughter: Harriet Carlson (and special friend Carl Jones) of Willmar; six grandchildren: Debbie (and Larry) Crippen, Patricia (and Mark) Broberg, Myron (and Marleen) Clark, Cheryl (and David) Baron, Mary Roe and Beverly (and Jim) Kingman; fifteen great-grandchildren; four great-great-grandchildren; a brother: Alfred (and Bernie) Ras of Twin Lake, Michigan; and other relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by his wife: Liz in 2002; two sons-in-law: Virgil Clark in 1974 and Leslie Carlson in 1999; a grandson: Paul Ras in 1976 and a great-grandson: Justin Crippen in 1986.