Henry Wesley Sommer

Henry was born in Pine City, MN on June 4, 1913 to Adolph and Sophia (Eiles) Sommer. They had four sons and four daughters. Henry was the 5th child. Edward Sommer, Lawrence (Lolly) Sommer, Gertrude Heyn, Margaret Sommer, Henry, Lucille Johnson, George Sommer and Doris Belsick. He grew up in the Pine City area where he attended school and graduated from Pine City High School in 1930. His father died the same year Henry graduated. Henry attended the University of Minnesota for one year but had to return home to help on the family farm which his mother and brother Lolly were managing. When the Pine City Cooperative was established in Pine City in 1937, Henry was hired as its first manager with a salary of $50 per month. In the early years, he was station attendant, bookkeeper, and purchasing agent. He was manager for 42 years, until he retired in 1979. He was also on the Board of Directors for Midland Cooperatives of Minneapolis for over 30 years and represented Midland on the National Cooperative Board for over 20 years. Henry served on the Pine City Village Council during the 1940's and 1950's. In 1981 he was named Pine City's Citizen of the Year. He was also a member of the Snake River Valley Conservation Club. The fishing pier at the public access in Pine City is named "Sommer Dock" in his honor. Henry met Evelyn Anderson when a group of young people were having a swimming/picnic outing at the Snake River. They were married May 27, 1938. They had five children, Gary "Butch" (Ilene) Sommer, Pine City; Judy Adams, Pine City; Sue (John) Sommer-Kresse, Charleston, SC; Mick (Nancy) Sommer, Golden CO; and Deb Sommer, Norfolk, VA. He is a long-time member of the Presbyterian Church and attended church regularly until well into his 90's. He also had served on the Church Council. Henry was an enthusiastic sportsman with many fishing trips to Canada and to nearby rivers and lakes. He also liked to hunt pheasants and ducks. He went deer hunting for 66 consecutive years at the hunting shack east of Hinckley and rarely came home without a deer. After one of his many elk hunting trips to Colorado, he donated his bull elk mount to the Snake River Valley Conservatoin Club. He was also an avid follower of the Twins and Vikings. Henry enjoyed playing cribbage and 500. For many years he played in the Pine Area Lions 500 Marathon and at the American Legion. He loved the outdoors and the family home on Cross Lake. He enjoyed gardening his entire life and was especially proud of his blueberry patch. Henry loved being with his family, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He will be deeply missed by his family and many friends. Henry is preceded in death by his wife of 64 years, Evelyn, who passed away in June 2002, his parents, four sisters, three brothers, a grandson, and a great-grandson. Funeral Service will be Thursday, September 23, 2010 at 11:00 at First Presbyterian Church, Pine City, MN. Visitation will be one hour before the service and Wednesday, September 22, 2010 from 5-8 PM at the Swanson Funeral Chapel, Pine City, MN.