Roger Mickelson

A Rembrandt area man who was committed to family, faith, farming and community service has gone to his heavenly home. Roger Edwin Mickelson, age 88, died on Monday, August 1, 2016 at Mercy Medical Center in Sioux City. Funeral services will be held Saturday, August 6, 2016 at 10:30 a.m. at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in Rembrandt, Iowa with Pastor Rhonda Wykoff officiating. Interment, with military rites, will take place at the Little Sioux Valley Cemetery, northwest of Rembrandt, following the service. Visitation with family and friends will be held at Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake on Friday, August 5, 2016 from 5 to 7 p.m. Roger was born on the family farm near Rembrandt on May 23, 1928 to C. Edwin and Emma Mickelson, joining his older sister Virginia. Edwin died of leukemia five years later, but the family remained on the farm, which Emma successfully managed with hired help. After graduating from Rembrandt High School in 1945, he attended Buena Vista College and Iowa State College, receiving his degree in farm operations. He came back to farm the home place in 1949. He directed the city band for two summers at the Rembrandt band shell on Wednesday nights, with cars parked nearby honking their horns after each selection. Roger’s farming and band activities stopped in 1951 when he was called into the U.S. Army, serving as a medic in the Korean conflict. After returning, he married Ruth Ann Olson, also of Rembrandt, on June 28, 1953. They raised corn, soybeans, livestock and five children. He enjoyed his family and had a special interest in supporting his children’s and grandchildren’s sports and music activities. Roger witnessed significant changes in the farming business during his lifetime, from the use of draft horses, neighborhood threshing rings, and picking corn by hand to the emergence of tractors, multi-row equipment, commercial fertilizer and herbicides. Community service was also important to him. He was active at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church as a teacher and choir member, as well as a trustee, deacon and president of the council. He served on the Rembrandt school board for 12 years, was a committee member for the county Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service for 22 years and also served on the local Farmers Home Administration and county extension service boards. He received a “Volunteer in Agriculture Award” from Buena Vista College in 1975. As a member of the Farm Bureau, Roger served as a county director, treasurer, vice president, president and a voting delegate. He retired from farming in 1993. Left to celebrate his legacy are his wife Ruth and children Karen (Doug) Sisler of Dallas, Texas; Edwin (Wendy) Mickelson of Marysville, Ohio; James (Kim) Mickelson of Odebolt, Iowa; Gary (Deborah) Mickelson of Springdale, Arkansas; and Steven (Colette) Mickelson of Ankeny, Iowa; as well as 18 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. Roger is also survived by his sister Virginia (Keith) Pierce of Storm Lake. He was preceded in death by his parents.

Roger Mickelson

May 23, 1928 - August 1, 2016