Larry Haukos

Larry Haukos, age 68 of Correll, MN died January 9, 2018, in Rochester, MN.

Funeral services will be held on Monday, January 15 at 10:30 a.m. at First English Lutheran Church in Ortonville.  Rev. David Tonn will officiate.  Visitation will be held at the church on Sunday from 5 – 7 p.m. with a prayer service at 7 p.m.  Visitation will continue on Monday, one hour prior to the service.

Larry Gale Haukos was born Monday,  August 1, 1949, in Graceville, MN, to Gale and Ann (Danielson) Haukos.  He was baptized at Eidskog Lutheran Church on September 11, 1949. His first home was on a farm in Otrey Township. When he was about one year old, they purchased a farm in Artichoke Township.

In his younger years, many hours of fun were had spending time with both Haukos and Danielson cousins. Larry and his siblings were all involved in 4-H and spent many hours training cattle as well as other 4-H activities. His parents were very active in community and church activities so he learned at an early age the importance of participating in these functions. His parents also liked to do some traveling so they ventured to California twice for the Rose Bowl Parade.

Larry affirmed his baptism at his confirmation at Eidskog Lutheran Church on May 17, 1964. His class was one of the larger classes at Eidskog having 12 students. Church, particularly Eidskog, remained a constant in his life.

Larry’s education began at District 14 country school. He attended school there through eighth grade and then went to Ortonville Public School. He was always involved in many activities while in school, including a few years of basketball. During his senior year, he was FFA president as well as student council president. He graduated on June 1, 1967. He first attended St. Cloud State to study civil engineering and after one quarter transferred to NDSU.

It was towards the end of his senior year in high school that he met and fell in love with Kathy. Larry had convinced the school to hold an open dance on April 1, 1967. Kathy and her friend came to the dance and the magic began. They were married on August 8, 1969, and returned to Fargo to continue his studies at NDSU. Six weeks after they were married, his new father-in-law passed away and his father became ill with a terminal brain tumor. In the spring of 1970, he decided to return to the farm where he farmed for the next 17 years. During these years, he was very active in DFL, Farmers Union and Farmers Union Marketing and Processing holding offices at the local as well state level. When he was in high school as well as after, he was involved with Farmers Union fly-ins to Washington, DC to help present concerns from the rural agricultural community. It was in January of 1986 that he grew very frustrated with what was happening in agriculture and decided he would walk to St. Paul to make a statement. He was always a peace maker and looked for ways to resolve problems in non-violent ways.

It was during his walk that he decided to return to NDSU and complete his engineering degree. He wasn’t sure how that was going to go because he had been out of school for a length of time. All his previous credits were accepted so it was sink or swim. He carried a relatively heavy class load because by that time, he had three children in his family as well. It was a proud day in 1988 that he graduated. He continued to work on his master’s degree in environmental engineering.

Job opportunities took him to Spokane, WA, for 3 ½ years where he worked for a consulting company building a number of landfills. Washington was beautiful but it wasn’t “home” in Minnesota. He and his family returned to Minnesota in 1992 where he worked for several consulting firms in the Twin Cities area building landfills, always looking out for the environment. In the fall of 1999, eager to return to the rural area, he obtained employment in Wheaton, MN, as Traverse County Highway Engineer where he worked until the time of his passing. He learned a little bit different type of building focusing more on roads and bridges. He so enjoyed the people that he worked with. They became like a big family.

Larry loved his kids very much. He enjoyed watching them grow and mature always taking an interest in anything they chose to do. He was the first one to drop anything and help them, always encouraging them to spread their wings and fly. His grandchildren were the most precious gems in his life. He was enjoyed watching them grow and loved all the fun times they brought to him.

Larry was a gentle man with a gentle spirit always willing to help others and looking for ways to make things better.

Larry is survived by his wife, Kathy; children: Josh (Brandy) Haukos, Shala (Tony) Korstjens, Caleb (Sarah) Haukos, all of Correll; grandchildren: Brianna, Bret, Payten, Maci, and Harper; step-grandchildren: Samantha, Dylon and Dustin; brothers: Gerald (Marilee) Haukos, Roger (Patty) Haukos; sister, Bonnie Barber; many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents: Gale and Ann; brother, Mark; and stepfather, Raymond Vaage.