Florance E. DeHeer, age 75, of Watkins, died Tuesday, September 26, 2017 at the CentraCare Health Paynesville Hospital from injuries sustained during an automobile accident.

Funeral Services will be held 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, October 3, 2017 at St. John’s Lutheran Church, Kimball with Rev. David Milz officiating. Burial will follow at Concordia Lutheran Cemetery, Fairhaven. Visitation will be held from 3:00-7:00 p.m. Monday at the Dingmann Funeral Care Chapel, Kimball and one hour prior to the service on Tuesday at the church.

Florance Eleanor DeHeer was born March 24, 1942 in Fairhaven Township to Fritz and Clara (Schauer) Gehrke. She was raised on the family farm near Fairhaven. Florance attended school in Kimball, graduating with the Class of 1960. After her graduation, Florance moved to the Minneapolis area where she worked for a short time. On September 23, 1961, she was united in marriage to Lloyd Vernon DeHeer at Concordia Lutheran Church in Fairhaven. Together, they lived and worked on their farm while also raising their four children. In addition to her duties on the farm, Florance also worked for LPC in Litchfield for 20+ years. After her retirement, she went to work for the Walmart bakery department in Litchfield where she mastered her cake decorating skills. Florance was a member of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Kimball. She was also a member of the Litchfield Eagles Club and participated in bowling leagues in Kimball and Litchfield. In her spare time, Florance enjoyed decorating cakes, gardening, bowling, playing cards, and traveling. Above all, Florance’s greatest enjoyment in life came from her family, especially her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She was their biggest supporter and tried to make it to all their events and activities.

Florance is survived by her children, Carrie (Mike) Oster of Kimball, Jesse DeHeer of Watkins, Candie Fennema (Dale Mozena) of Kimball, and Jason DeHeer of Watkins; 9 grandchildren, Jennifer, Kristen, Alyssa, Kaily, Katie, Kimberly, Mariah, Destiny, and Sonnie; 3 step grandsons. Esteban, Steven, and Tyler; great grandchildren, Lila, Atreyu, Dawson, Aydrion, and Zeena; fiancé, Norm Degeest of Litchfield; siblings, Clista DeChaney of Virginia Beach, VA, Clementine “Mae” (Dwane) Schmidt of Annandale, and Linda Schlueter of St. Cloud; sisters-in-law, Patricia “Pat” Gehrke of St. Francis and Joan Gehrke of Clearwater; brother-in-law, Harold Babineau of Foley; and many nieces, nephews, other family members and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents Fritz and Clara Gehrke, husband Lloyd, siblings Baby Gehrke, DelRoy Gehrke, Orvella Babineau, and Lealund Gehrke, and brother-in-law Eugene Schlueter.

Eric Gehrke, Matt Ertl, Dean Malikowski, Eddie Schmidt, Craig Schmidt, Mike Rohrbeck, and Steve Rohrbeck will serve as pallbearers, with Larry Gehrke, Tammy Busche, and Terry Weinkauf serving as honorary pallbearers. Lori Rippentrop will provide music for the service. Arrangements are entrusted to Dingmann Funeral Care Burial & Cremation Services of Kimball.

 Service Information