Cletus Blong dies at 80
Cletus Blong age 80 of Lawler, died Monday, Sept. 25, 2017, at Colonial Manor in Elma.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held 10:30 a.m. Friday, Sept. 29, 2017, at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Catholic Church, Lawler with Rev. Kyle Digmann celebrating the Mass.
Interment will be held in Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Cemetery, Lawler with Gerard Gebel, Dean Reicks, Joe Kuehn, Gary Gilbert, Raymond Blong, and Steve Gebel serving as pallbearers.
Friends may greet the family 9:30 – 10:30 a.m. Friday, Sept. 29, 2017 at the church prior to the Mass.
Cletus Virgil Blong was born Dec. 6, 1936 in rural Lawler, the son of Louis and Elizabeth (Balk) Blong. Cletus attended Mt. Carmel Catholic elementary school in Lawler and graduated from Lawler High School in 1953.
Cletus started working on the family farm and helped with the family trenching and tiling business. Farming was Cletus’ life; he spent over 50 years on the farm raising Hereford cattle that he took pride in caring for and raising. Cletus worked shoulder to shoulder with Raymond Blong farming together. Cletus loved everything about the farm, from growing crops to the daily chores.
Cletus found time to enjoy watching birds and looking at the wild flowers. He would take road trips to Lake Meyer by Calmar, Iowa and sit on the bank of the lake to fish and enjoy the wildlife. On occasion he loved attending the sale barns in the area to watch all the livestock. A farm sale was an event he didn’t miss.
Family was important to Cletus who enjoyed visiting with his brother, sister and brother-in-law. He also enjoyed watching his nieces and nephews grow up.
Cletus is survived by his brother, Cyril Blong of Milwaukee, Wisc; sister, Mary Agnes Gebel of New Hampton; brother-in-law, Ardie Reicks of Lawler; cousin, Raymond (Charlotte) Blong of Waucoma.
Cletus was preceded in death by his parents, Louis and Elizabeth Blong; brother, Louise Jr.; sisters, Arlene Blong, Edna Reicks, Patricia Ondrashek; brothers-in-law; LeRoy Gebel, Norbert Ondrashek; sister-in-law, Margaret Blong.