Frederic Heinze Berreau

Frederic "Fred" H. Berreau, 91, of Lake Wilson, MN, died on Tuesday, December 8, 2020 at his winter home in Donna, Texas.

In an effort to keep everyone safe a private family service will be held at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Lake Wilson on Wed. Dec. 16 at 1:00 PM with Father Thien Nguyen officiating.  Pallbearers are his grandchildren. Interment is at the Hillside Cemetery, Lake Wilson, MN.   Military honors accorded by the Lake Wilson American Legion Post.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the Lake Wilson American Legion Post in Lake Wilson, MN.

Per MN Executive order, masks will be required and social distancing and occupancy limits are to be followed.

Frederic H. Berreau was born on May 28, 1929 to Frederic G. and Erla Heinze Berreau at home on their farm in Cameron Township in Murray County. He attended the District 22 Cameron Grade School, where he had to travel uphill both ways to school. He participated in 4-H and was a trendsetter with a yellow hat at the State Fair.  As a 4-H project, Fred wired the house at his family farm with 12-volt electricity using the windmill.  He graduated from Lake Wilson High School.

Fred joined the Air Force in 1951 and was a Korean War Veteran. He was stationed at Aurora, Colorado as an Air Force staff sergeant. He taught radar to Air Force pilots. He was married to Marilyn Klinsing in 1951, and they had six children. In 1955 he was honorably discharged and moved to a farm in Cameron Township that was a mile from his family farm.

The Berreau family farm is a Centennial farmstead, and Fred farmed all his life. He was a dairy farmer for many years. He raised crops, beef cattle, sheep, hogs, springer spaniel puppies, and children. The farm was John Deere Green. So do not dare to drive anything red into his farmyard!

In 1983, Fred married Fran Somers Nelson. They had two children. They continued to live on the farm until 2015, when they moved to Lake Wilson. They enjoyed traveling to Donna, Texas to take in the warmth, play cards, bingo, and sit on their deck drinking merlot during the winter.

Fred was a lifetime member of the Lake Wilson American Legion. He served as Second District Legion Commander from 79-80, district membership chairman 84-85, Department of Minnesota American Legion Vice Commander 95-96, Member of the 40-8, and President of the Minnesota American Legion Foundation.

He was a 4-H leader in the Cameron 4-H club, which his mother Erla started, member of the Lake Wilson PTA, Murray County FHA Board, CCSI Board of Directors, Cameron Township Board, Lake Wilson EDA, Murray County Community Education Board, Murray County Republican chairman, Knights of Columbus, and Beaver Creek Watershed Board.  He was also a member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Lake Wilson.

Fred was known for his quirky sayings, such as to his grandkids when they did not want to leave, “if you don’t go home, you can’t come back.”  He said his hobbies included going to meetings!

He is survived by his wife, Fran; children, Lynne Okani, Minneapolis, MN; Dana (Anita) Berreau, Lake Wilson, MN; daughter-in-law Angelle Berreau; Adrian, MN; Dawn (Casey) Tomac, Sioux Falls, SD; Chad (Jennifer) Berreau, Cottage Grove; Brenda (John) Koniar, Minneapolis, MN; Debra (Mark) Larsen, Cologne, MN; Michelle (Ben) Scholtz, Sioux Falls, SD; Michael (Amanda) Berreau, Woodstock, MN; Kirana Pringpairoor (Nune) Thai, foreign exchange student; 22 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by two sons Frederic (Ricky) Berreau and Jon Berreau; his parents, and siblings Genevieve Gilfillan, Gertrude Johnson, Eileen Schuur, Meredith Hebl, and Joseph Berreau.