July 9, 1926 ~ January 1, 2021
Graveside service Thursday, January 7 at 2:00 pm at Resurrection Cemetery.
Celebration of Life Service on Zoom, January 18th at 10:00 am.
Zoom Meeting number 9636580671
Elroy (age 94) was a man of integrity and lived a life of giving. He passed away in the home he built himself. He was dearly loved by his family and friends.
Elroy was born to Florence (Sachs) and Louis Rechtzigel. He went to Rosemount schools and received a technical college degree. He worked hard on the family farm. He was baptized, confirmed and married at Emanuel Lutheran (later named Crown of Life Church). He met the love of his life (Evelyn Dahm) in church choir. They married August 17, 1945 and were newlyweds for 64 years. He was active in his church his entire life and supported Christian education. He helped visit people who needed to hear about the Lord’s love, he fixed things at the church and was a leader in the congregation.
His love for airplanes led him to get his private pilot’s license and work at North Central Airlines. He built and flew radio control airplanes and was part of Tri Valley R/V. He loved attending airshows including Oshkosh EAA. He and Evelyn traveled in their motor home in later years; Myrtle Beach being their favorite. Elroy’s employment varied until he was able to achieve his dream of running his own motor repair shop. Rex Electric and later Elroy’s Service. He spent many years helping others with motor problems, so much so he was the WCCO good neighbor for a day. His family would say “Papa can fix it” whenever things broke. He ran his business and fixed motors with Sheldon Sachs and later brought his grandson Andrew Taylor into the business to carry on. He called them his boys. Andrew will continue running the business from a new location. Elroy went to his shop and worked almost every day until 1 month before his death. His strong faith and relationship with God led him to send his girls to Christian schools. He continued supporting Christian education for the rest of his life. Elroy’s life was full of giving and serving others as a result of his faith. He loved his family and sacrificed to help them always.
He is proceeded in death by his beloved wife Evelyn; his grandson Wade Rusty Rustad, his son in law Ken (Corky) Rustad, his brother Louis Rechtzigel.
He will be dearly missed by his daughters Kathleen (Ralph) Taylor, Gail Rustad and LuAnn Olen. Each daughter played a significant role in his life. Kathy dropped in, reminisced with him and left the place clean as a whistle. Gail traveled from WI, made delicious meals for him to heat up and called him nightly. LuAnn played cards with him, brought ice cream and had great conversations on the patio. They each did many tasks around the house to make sure he was safe and taken care of in his home until the end.
He leaves 6 grandchildren, 8 Great grandchildren and 2 great great grandchildren, His loyal friend Sheldon Sachs and his motor shop friends. He will also leave Ben the cat who was his special friend after Evelyn passed away. He is also survived by his sister Auverne (Bob) Raatz, sister in law Carol Rechtzigel and nieces and nephews and their children and grandchildren.
Elroy’s Grandchildren: Amy(Andy) Zylstra, Jonn(Holly) Taylor, Peter Taylor, Katie Jelinek, Rebecca (Matt) Jump, Andrew Taylor. Great Grandchildren: Michael Taylor, Rhett Zylstra, Donovan Bradshaw, Reese Zylstra, Emrys Bradshaw, Hanna Kincaid, Jessica Bradshaw, Callista Taylor, Megan Bradshaw, Gabriella Perez. Great Great Grandchildren: Vanessa Taylor, Westin Zylstra. Memorials to Crown of Life tuition fund.