Sylvester Edward Erpelding

Sylvester Edward Erpelding, 88 of Winona, died peacefully Thursday, December 26, 2013 at his home.Sylvester was born November 4, 1925 on the family farm in Winona County to Nicholas and Catherine (Martin) Erpelding. He served in the United States Army during WWII, stationed in the Philippines. Sylvester was awarded a Purple Heart and an Oak Leaf Cluster. On July 27, 1948, he married Rosemary Ashelin at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Winona. Sylvester worked for the MN DOT as a surveyor until his retirement in 1987. He was a lifelong member of the DAV and also a member of the American Legion and VFW. Sylvester loved farming, yard work, taking care of his roses and sitting in the yard and eating sweets. He also enjoyed reading, crossword puzzles, the TV show Cheers, snowmobiling and hunting in his earlier years. Sylvester and Rose traveled a lot together, even making it to all 50 states; he loved to drive and gave new meaning to the word Road Warrior. Most of all, Sylvester enjoyed spending time with his family. He enjoyed boating and swimming on the river and hosting family "get-togethers" on the farm.He is survived by his wife, Rose; two daughters, Sylvia (Rich) Iwinski of Waukesha, WI and Claire (Kim) Erickson of Winona; five grandchildren, Hayley (Brandon) Foust, Stacey Iwinski (fiancé Chad Melichar), Kimberly (Josh) Hill, David (Andrea) Erickson, and Katy (Daniel) Schulz; six great-grandchildren, Cody, Zoe, Jolie, Sophie, Brenden and Elena; two brothers, Gerald (Joyce) Erpelding of Sheridan, WY and Bernard (Janice) Erpelding of Winona; one sister, Rose (Ed) Hathaway of Fairfax, VT; brother-in-law, Jerry Narog; sister-in-law, Lori Erpelding and many nieces and nephews.He was preceded in death by his parents; two sisters, Dorothy (Ed) Kammerer and Helen Narog; and one brother, Francis Erpelding.Funeral Mass will be 11 a.m., Monday, December 30, 2013 at St. Mary's Catholic Church with the Reverend James Berning officiating. Burial will follow at St. Mary's Cemetery. Visitation will be 3 - 5 p.m., Sunday at Hoff Celebration of Life Center in Goodview with a prayer service at 5 p.m. followed by a time of sharing. Visitation will continue on Monday from 10 a.m. until the time of the service in the church commons. Please share a memory of Sylvester, sign his online guestbook and view his video tribute when it becomes available at www.hofffuneral.com.