Deloss "Del" Thue

DeLoss A. Thue (“Del”), age 95 of Hastings, died peacefully on Monday morning, February 13, 2023, at Prescott Nursing and Rehabilitation, Prescott, Wisconsin.

DeLoss Alton, son of Andrew and Gida (Johnson) Thue, was born on May 5, 1927 on the family farm in Urness Township, Douglas County, Minnesota. Following his graduation from Kensington High School, Del enlisted in the U.S. Navy, serving until 1946. He was on one of the ships off the coast of Japan that collected munitions from Japan after its surrender.

On October 15,1949, Del was united in marriage to Esther Overgaard. Early in their marriage, Del and Esther lived in west central Minnesota. There he had a bulk oil business that delivered petroleum products to area farmers. During that time, he served as Scoutmaster for the Kensington Boy Scouts, who provided community services to those local areas.

In 1962, Del was hired by Great Northern Oil Company, later known as Koch Industries. He and Esther then moved to Hastings where they raised their family of six children. At Koch, Del worked as a pipefitter for 28 years until his retirement.

In Hastings, Del was an active member of Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church. He was an usher for many years and participated in volunteer projects. Del was proud of his Norwegian heritage and was a long-time member of Sons of Norway. He greatly enjoyed this fellowship and the group’s holiday fundraiser of making lefse, a potato-based flat bread; oftentimes, 100 pounds of potatoes were cleaned and cooked to make this lefse. In addition to church events, Del attended Lutheran camps at Mount Carmel Ministries in Alexandria, Minnesota. He enjoyed this camp’s bible studies and fellowship. Since the camp had a small budget, Del volunteered with maintenance such as painting of buildings, small plumbing jobs and other projects.

During their 71 years of marriage, Del and Esther enjoyed traveling. Many family vacations were taken to Yellowstone, Black Hills, Washington D.C., as well as camping in the Alexandria lakes region. Visiting Norway was a highlight of their travels. After retiring, they enjoyed many winters in the Phoenix, Arizona, area.

Throughout his life, Del was blessed with great hand-eye coordination. He was a member of an undefeated High School basketball team that was 16-0 for its season. He loved playing golf in Minnesota and in Arizona, especially with family, fellow parishioners, and co-workers from Koch.

He was preceded in death by his parents and 2 siblings; beloved wife Esther; daughters, Patricia Davies and Elizabeth Wiegrefe; grandson Bryan Thompson.

Del is survived by his sister, Mildred Lutz; children, Dan (Mary) Thue, Dave Thue, Diane (Steve) Rother, and Lori (Tim) Thompson; sons-in-law, John Davies and Jerry Wiegrefe; 13 grandchildren and 20 great grandchildren, all of whom have great memories of him; and by many nieces, nephews, other relatives, and friends.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, April 15, 2023, at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in Hastings. Family and friends are invited to a visitation for one hour prior to the service, and to a luncheon thereafter, all at church on Saturday. Private interment will take place afterwards.

A Celebration of Life for Del’s late wife, Esther, will be held in connection with his funeral. Esther died on December 3, 2020, during the height of COVID, when restrictions were in place limiting in person attendance at funerals and other gatherings.

Del’s family would like to especially thank the staff at Prescott Nursing and Rehabilitation, Dr. Ian McQuistan and staff of Regina Hospital, and St. Croix Hospice for the care they provided to Del over the years.

In lieu of flowers, the family encourages any memorials be made to Our Saviour's Lutheran Church.

Arrangements are being completed by Starkson Family Life Celebration Chapel of Hastings.