Ivan Fehr

Ivan L. Fehr, 87, of Minneapolis, Minn., formerly of Bloomer, died Saturday, Nov. 13, 2010, in Minneapolis. He was born Oct. 20, 1923, in the township of Auburn. Ivan married Joyce Bauer on June 6, 1951. He started out farming in the Bloomer area, then later moved to Minneapolis where he continued his love for gardening vegetables, peonies and roses. He was an avid musician. He enjoyed playing the piano, accordion, trumpet and saxophone to name only a few of the many instruments he played. Each week he blessed his church congregation with beautiful accompaniment during the song service. He enjoyed passing his love of music onto his sons and grandsons. He shared his knowledge by urging his grandsons to bring their instruments over every time they visited, for a private lesson with grandpa.
He was very mechanical and loved inventing things. He built an electric start lawn mower by cleverly combining a standard push mower with an electric drill. He also recharged batteries, for all his grandson’s toys, before rechargeable batteries were popular. He passed this knowledge and experience onto his sons, which learned to rebuild and sell bicycles and later motorcycles, out of the garage. Later his grandsons would look forward to every visit with grandpa in his basement work shop. He always had a project planned for his grandsons. He taught them from when they were young how to simply use the drill press to drill holes into wood, so when they were older, they could build small electrical circuits and small battery powered pontoon boats. He has sparked his children’s and grandchildren’s imagination and given them the drive and know-how to build and maintain most anything.
He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Joyce; children, Larry (Susan) of Minneapolis, Minn., Dale (Dona) of Minneapolis, Minn.; grandchildren, Brian Fehr of Spooner, David (Kristy) Fehr of Minneapolis, Minn., Daniel Fehr of Prescott Valley, Ariz.; sister, Verna Klemish of Bloomer; numerous other relatives and friends.
He was preceded in death by parents, Herman and Marie Fehr, brother Oliver Fehr, sisters Ardes Petchow, Lucille Prince, Delores Rediger.
A graveside service will be held on Friday, Nov. 19, 2010, at 1 p.m. at the Auburn cemetery in Bloomer with David Olson officiating. There will be a time of gathering immediately following the graveside service at the Main Street Café in Bloomer.