Marvin J Schrandt

Marvin Schrandt, 63 of St. Charles, MN and formerly Ft. Atkinson, IA, died Friday, December 14, 2012 at the Lewiston Villa in Lewiston, MN.Marvin Joseph Schrandt was born in Decorah, IA on September 2, 1949 to Hugo "Ole" and Lorraine (Einck) Schrandt of Ft. Atkinson, IA. He attended St. Mary's Catholic Grade School in Festina and DeSales High School in Ossian, IA. He then went on to study at Iowa State University. In 1971, when Ole had surgery for cancer, Marv came home to help out on the family dairy farm and decided to stay, eventually purchasing the farm. It was there he met and married the love of his life, Michele Merrill. They were married on December 27, 1975. Everyone who knows Marv, describes him as "the nicest guy," "such a considerate man," "a quiet man," and "a true friend." All of those things are certainly true. He was a successful dairy farmer. In 1992 their family won the Distinguished Dairy Family of the year. He also won several production and quality awards for their dairy herd. In 1997 they sold the dairy herd and he began work as lead on the horse trailer line at Featherlite in Cresco. When making a job change to the NICC Dairy Foundation in 2007, Marv was diagnosed with Alzheimer 's disease. At this point they decided to move to St. Charles, MN to be closer to their son, Brad and his family.Marv was a 4-H leader, a member of the Calmar Lutheran Church Council and served on the Winneshiek County Dairy Council where he loved his duties on the Moo Mobile. He was very talented in a variety of crafts and skills, and together with Mic, embarked on many home and farm improvement projects and adventures. Marv was the "go-to guy" for his parents if they needed anything. He enjoyed bowling, card club and golf with family and friends. His greatest joy was his family. He was proud of his children and was delighted when the grandchildren came along.Marvin is survived by his wife, Michele; children, Bradley (Shelley) Schrandt of St. Charles, Jon Schrandt of Ft. Atkinson, IA and Kerstin (Junior) Reynosa of Terrill, IA; five grandchildren, Grace and Callie Schrandt and Javier, Damien and Jayda Reynosa; his mother-in-law, Virginia Merrill of Lewiston, MN; two brothers, David (Barb) Schrandt of Chaska, MN and James (Susan) Schrandt of Sutherlin, OR; sister, Connie Schrandt of Minneapolis, MN; sister-in-law, Debbie Merrill of Lawler, IA; nephews, Jeremy (Stacy) Merrill of Ft. Atkinson, IA, Brian (Stephanie) Schrandt of Chaska, Tony Schrandt of Chaska, Jeff (Sarah) Schrandt of Simsbury, CT and Eric Parr of Oregon.Marvin was preceded in death by his parents, Hugo and Lorraine Schrandt; father-in-law, Clinton "Bud" Merrill; brother-in-law, Tim Merrill; nephew, Oliver Merrill; and infant brother, Joseph Schrandt.Memorial Service will be 3 p.m., Saturday, December 29, 2012 at Hoff Funeral & Cremation Service - St. Charles with Reverend Steve Deedrick of Harvest Bible Chapel in Rochester officiating. Visitation will be 1 p.m. until the time of the service. A reception will follow the service at the funeral home. A Celebration of Life Coffee will be held at the Community Center in Festina, IA on January 5 from 1 - 3 p.m.Please share a memory of Marv and sign his online guestbook at www.hofffuneral.com.