Merle Henry Hahn

Merle Hahn of Evansville, MN, formerly of Boyd, MN, passed away at the Evansville Care Center on Wednesday, May 25th, 2022, at the age of 95. Waiting to greet him was his wife of nearly 75 years, Arlene, who recently passed away on January 2nd of this year, and their son, Jerry, who passed away in 2018.

Merle Henry Hahn was born on February 20, 1927, at Jamestown, ND. He was one of five children born to William and Dorothy (Kanzelman) Hahn. Merle was baptized into the Christian faith on December 12, 1943, and confirmed on June 11, 1944, both at Trinity Lutheran Church in Boyd. He was a life-long member of the Lutheran Church. He was a member at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Boyd until they closed and continued his membership at Zion Lutheran Church of rural Boyd. Merle attended school in Boyd and graduated in 1945. He entered the Navy at Great Lakes Naval Training Center in Illinois on April 12, 1945. He served in WWII in Okinawa, Mariana Islands, and Guam. He took great pride in his military service and was honored to serve his country. After returning home in August 1946, he married Arlene Doose on April 28, 1947.  Merle and Arlene had two children, Barbara Ann in 1948 and Gerald William in 1951.

In his younger years, you’d find Merle in his garage where he operated a body shop repair and paint business. He then worked for the LQP County Highway Dept. for over 30 years until he retired after Jerry was injured in 1986. Merle served on the Boyd Fire Dept. for over 30 years, served as a City of Boyd councilman, and was actively involved in the Boyd American Legion for over 60 years. Merle and Arlene also enjoyed listening and dancing to music, especially polkas. Lawrence Welk was a TV favorite. After retirement, you could find Merle driving around the countryside with Jerry. He enjoyed taking trips out west to Las Vegas, the Badlands, south to Branson, and driving around LQP Lake. You’d also find him driving his golf cart, along with Arlene, surveying ditches for asparagus. You could find them several miles away cruising in their cart. After grandkids came along, Merle and Arlene loved to read the newspaper to catch up on their latest school activities. He enjoyed watching and feeding the birds. The grandkids loved to listen to him tell stories of his younger years as he was very knowledgeable on many things.  Merle was quite handy mechanically and built a working homemade carousel for children at the young age of 88.  Merle loved to spend time with friends and family, was extremely witty, and would come up with funny joke or phrase at just the right time to make people smile and laugh. His laugh, smile and good nature will be missed by everyone who knew him.

Merle is survived by his daughter, Barb (Robert) Henrichs of Evansville; grandsons, Ryan Henrichs (Julie Dahlen) of Ashby, Darren Henrichs and Robbie (Alisa) Henrichs, both of Evansville; grandson, Chad (Kim) Hahn of Dawson; granddaughter, Carin (Scott) Buseman of Waconia; step-grandsons, Shane (Lisa) Henrichs of Evansville and Michael (Darcy) Henrichs of St. Cloud; great-grandchildren, Cassandra Englund, Faith and Ryan Henrichs, Jr., Christopher Henrichs, Rachel, Braxton, and Brayden Hahn, Chloe Henrichs, and Bryce and Eric Buseman; step-great-grandchildren, Justin Henrichs (Amy Alyce), Carly (Rocky) Yates, Jordan Henrichs, Bella, Natalie, and Owen Henrichs; step-great-great-grandchildren, Tenly, Piper, Dawson and Sabrina Henrichs, Taylor, Ryland, and Kendra Yates; brother-in-law, Gordon (Cheryl) Doose of Garfield and brother-in-law, Virgil Anderson of Boyd.

Merle was preceded in death by his wife, Arlene and son Jerry; parents, William and Dorothy Hahn; parents-in-law, John and Pearl Doose; brother, Darrell Hahn; sisters, Phyllis Hahn, Marilyn Johnson, and Marie Priebe; brothers-in-law, Chuck Doose, John Doose Jr., Dick Shogren, Don Priebe, and Francis Johnson; sisters-in-law, Violet Anderson, Shirley Shogren, Ruby Doose, Margaret Hahn and Lavonne Priebe.

Visitation will be on Friday, June 3rd, 2022 from 10 to 11 AM at Trinity Lutheran Church in Boyd, followed by the memorial service at 11 AM. Interment with military honors to follow in Trinity Cemetery, Boyd.

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