Richard V. Falk

Richard V. Falk, age 87, of Willmar, passed away peacefully Wednesday morning, February 21, at his winter home in Mesa, Arizona under Hospice in the Valley.

A celebration of life service will be held at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, April 23, at Bethel Lutheran Church in Willmar.  Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the church.  Interment will be at Cloverleaf Memorial Park Cemetery.  In lieu of flowers, memorials are strongly encouraged to Bethel Lutheran Church, CentraCare Rice Health Foundation, Kandiyohi County Historical Society or donor's choice.  Arrangements are entrusted to the Peterson Brothers Funeral Home.  www.petersonbrothers.com

Richard Verle Falk was born on February 1, 1937, in Willmar, Minnesota, the son of Walter and Vera Falk.  He grew up in Willmar, graduated from Willmar High School in 1955 and from St. Olaf College in 1959.  His very best friends were from high school and college.  He also served for a time in the U.S. Army Reserves.

On June 11, 1960, Richard was united in marriage to Audrey Lee and they made their home in the Willmar community.  Richard was a real estate agent in Willmar for over 34 years.   Richard was a “mover and shaker” throughout the Willmar community.  He was the last founding member of Ridgewater College and was chairman of the Willmar School Board when the middle school was built.  He was chairman of the Rice Memorial Hospital during an expansion and chairman of Kandiyohi County Board of Commissioners when the Willmar Law Enforcement Center was built.  He was also very involved with Bethel Lutheran Church and the Kandiyohi County Historical Society.

Richard enjoyed traveling.  He and his family spent a year in Ethiopia.  He also traveled six times to Kenya where he worked for as a volunteer for Lutheran and Presbyterian churches.  Richard was involved with the Friendship Force in Minnesota and also at the National and International levels of the Friendship Force in Atlanta.

Richard was a founding member of the Solomon Lake Hunt Club, where he enjoyed hunting and fishing.  He also enjoyed playing card games and entertaining family and friends.   When Audrey became unable to cook, Richard became a wonderful chef.  He had more cookbooks than a library.  

On October 6, 2012, Richard was married to Maxine Zempel.   They made their home in Willmar and spent their winters as “Snowbirds” in Mesa, Arizona.  While in Arizona, Richard was elected to their condo board.   He was also an active member of Our Saviors Lutheran Church, serving on the church council board, endowment fund and nominating committees.

He is survived by his loving wife, Maxine; his daughter, Susan (and Peter) Freeman; two granddaughters, Alex and Rachel and a great granddaughter.  Also surviving is his sister, Jacquelyn Anderson; one niece, Britt Anderson; and one nephew, Tal Anderson, besides other relatives, and many friends.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Audrey in 2011; his son, Neal Alan Falk; his brother, Dennis Falk and his parents, Walter and Vera.