Lavern "Sleepy" Henry Oeltjen, age 83, of Lamar, Missouri passed away Saturday, December 14, 2019, at Truman Healthcare and Rehabilitation.
Vern was born March 19,1936 in Grand Meadow, Minnesota to William Oeltjen and Anna (Pantze) Oeltjen. Vern was the 11th child out of 17 children. As a young man, Vern would retrieve water from a nearby well, where he met his wife of 64 years, Hannah (Fry) Oeltjen. Vern and Hannah were married on November 26, 1955.
Known to many as "Sleepy", Vern enjoyed his daily nap and his favorite child (dog) named Fritzy. Starting work at the age of 16, Vern devoted many years at Norris Grain Company and Bub Curless Construction. Vern spent 38 years working at Curless Construction and became known as a trusted handy man. During this time, Vern was honored as a premier heavy equipment operator in Barton County. Vern was also a long-time member of the Lamar Metro Club.
Survivors include his wife Hannah; 1 daughter, Sherri (Don) Pittsenbarger of Lamar; 2 sons, Rick (Pam) Oeltjen and Tim (Glyndora) Oeltjen all of Carthage; 2 sisters, Darla Reno of Lamar and Mary Lou Rathbun of Rochester, MN; 4 brothers, Ernie Oeltjen and Albert Oeltjen, both of Rochester, MN, Melvin Oeltjen of Wichita Falls, TX and Don Oeltjen of Smithville, MO; 9 grandchildren, Gabe (Lara) Oeltjen, Erin (Rob) Gomez, Phillip (Jarica) Oeltjen, Ryan (Justin) Souza, Rusty Pittsenbarger, Mike Pittsenbarger, Lori Bartlett, Valerie Guerin and David Davis and 16 great-grandchildren.
Preceding Vern in death were his parents, 3 sisters and 7 brothers.
A graveside service will be 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, December 18, 2019, at Lake Cemetery in Lamar, MO. Everyone is welcome to attend and celebrate Vern's long lived life.
The family will receive friends from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, December 17th, 2019 at Daniel Funeral Home in Lamar, MO.
Contributions are suggested and made payable to the American Diabetes Association or the Barton County Humane Society in care of Daniel Funeral Home.
The family would like to thank the staff members of Cox Barton County Hospital and Truman Healthcare and Rehabilitation for their quality of care and dedication to Vern and his family.
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