Theodore G. Linge

Theodore Gaylon Linge, age 73, of Baltic, died on Tuesday, May 12, 2009, at Dougherty House in Sioux Falls. Funeral services will begin at 10:30 A.M. Saturday, May 16, 2009, at Willow Creek Lutheran Church, rural Dell Rapids. Visitation will begin at 3:00 P.M. Friday at the Minnehaha Funeral Home, Dell Rapids, with the family present from 5-7:30 P.M.

Ted was born on May 10, 1936, at Dell Rapids, South Dakota, to Tunice and Delia (Nesheim) Linge. He grew up in the Lyons area and at the very young age of 5, he began helping his father farm by cultivating corn with a “H” John Deere. He attended school in Lyons and graduated from Lyons High School in 1954. He served in the Air National Guard and worked in the Chester area as a farm hand and driving truck. On August 2, 1963, Ted married Joyce Persing in Chester. Following their marriage, Ted farmed in the Baltic area.

Ted was a lifetime servant of God at Willow Creek Lutheran Church where he was baptized and confirmed. He served on the church council and helped build and remodel several areas of the church. He restored antique tractors, starting with a 1929 Hart Parr. The color of the tractor never mattered much to Ted, as he also restored Minneapolis Molines, but his favorite was always his original “H” John Deere. He helped start the Minneapolis Moline Siouxland Collectors and the Willow Creek Threshers. He greatly enjoyed the company of his friends and anyone who would share a cup of coffee with him, but most of all his greatest pride and joy was his family.

Grateful for having shared his life are his wife, Joyce, Baltic; daughters, Lisa (Tim) Rave, Baltic, Linda Linge, Dell Rapids and Beth (Shane) Warne, Colton; grandchildren: Thea and Mitchell Rave; Parker and Lucas Meyerink; and Jackie, Kamber, Carter and Keith Warne; a brother, Delmer (Mardell) Linge, Panama City, FL; sisters: Beverly (Ken) Winterton, Madison and Marlene (Don) Nelson, Crooks.