John DeLong

Funeral services for John DeLong will be on Thursday, November 29, 2018 at 10:30 a.m. at Evangelical Free Church in Morris with Reverends Marlin Mohrman and Tim Shekleton officiating.  Visitation will be on Wednesday from 4:00 – 7:00 p.m. with a prayer service at 6:30 p.m. at the Pedersen Funeral Home in Morris and will continue one hour prior to the services at the church on Thursday.  Burial will be in Summit Cemetery in Morris.

John DeLong was born on January 31, 1923 to Harm and Annie (VanDerVeen) Nenegay in Worthington, Minnesota.  At the age of three, after the death of his mother, John was adopted by Ben and Della DeLong.  John grew up by Elbow Lake, Minnesota where he attended school through the 8th grade.  After his schooling, he went on to farm with his Dad, Ben DeLong.  In 1957, John met Hazel Peters; they were united in marriage in January of 1958.  They made their home in Donnelly for 17 years where John farmed and they raised their family of 12 children.  In 1978, they moved the family to Wheaton, Minnesota where John worked as a custodian for the school district for 18 years.  After losing Hazel to cancer, John moved to Morris in 2005 where he lived the remainder of his life.

John was a member of the Bethlehem Covenant Church in Wheaton, Minnesota and attended the Morris Evangelical Free Church.  He enjoyed woodworking, attending the State Fair and going to Arizona.  John was easy to get along with and had many friends, his greatest lesson in life is “always laugh, don’t take life too serious.”  Most importantly, John cherished the time that he was able to spend with his family.

John passed away surrounded by family on Sunday, November 25, 2018, at the West Wind Village in Morris; he lived to 95 years old.

John is survived by his 10 daughters: Susan (Keary) Toso of Fergus Falls, Donna (Jackie) Green of Rogersville, AL,  Della (Dean) Johnson of Fargo, ND, Nancy (Ken) Derby of Glyndon, Janet (Neil) Siegel of Rosholt, SD, Leila (Dean) Hormann of Starbuck, LuAnn (Paul) Jaeger of Fergus Falls, Dianne (Mark) Fladland of New Effington, SD, Karen (Rob Hoernemann) Anderson of Wheaton, and Teresa (Michael) Kruger of Anthem, AZ; 44 grandchildren; 46 great-grandchildren; sisters: Greta Mogler of Morris and Darlene Loose of Appleton; sisters-in-law: Vonna DeLong and Norma DeLong, both of Alexandria; and many nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his parents; wife, Hazel; sons: Jonathan and Roger DeLong; grandsons: Louis DeLong and Zack Jorgenson; siblings: Minnie Doekson, Elsie Iverson, Ben DeLong, Eddie DeLong, and Richard DeLong; brothers-in-law: Al Iverson, Garrett Doekson, Virgil Loose and Halvor Breum.

Pedersen Funeral Home in Morris is in charge of arrangements for John.