Marcellus Drietz, age 96, of Ivanhoe, MN passed away on Friday, July 30, 2021 at the Hendricks Nursing Home. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30a.m. on Friday, August 6th at St. John Cantius Catholic Church in Wilno, MN. Visitation will be 5 to 7p.m. on Thursday, August 5th at the St. John Cantius Catholic Church in Wilno with a prayer service at 7pm. Visitation will resume one hour prior to the service at the church. Burial will be in the St. John Cantius Catholic Cemetery near Wilno, MN. Houseman Funeral Home is entrusted with the arrangements.
Marcellus Anton Drietz was born on the family farm in Royal Township, Lincoln County, Minnesota on September 30, 1924, to Joseph and Anna (Andrzejek) Drietz. He attended parochial school and received all of his Holy Sacraments at St. John Cantius Catholic Church in Wilno. Marcellus was united in marriage to Irene Helen Sik on February 1, 1949 at St. John Cantius Catholic Church, and that evening they held their wedding dance at the Showboat. To this union, they were blessed with six children that they raised together on the family farm on Drietz Lake. Marcellus received recognition for this farm as a family-owned Century Farm by the Minnesota Farm Bureau in 2018. He was a very hard-working man which was shown by his working hands and well groomed yard and trees. He was a dairy and grain farmer his entire working life. He also worked cattle, pigs, and chickens. He was a lover to all animals and took good care of his dogs and barn cats. When he was able to, he enjoyed to go dancing to polka music. Traveling was also something Marcellus enjoyed throughout the years. He was able to travel to Switzerland and throughout the United States including Hawaii. He enjoyed traveling to visit family and friends, including his daughter Linda and her family at different Navel bases, and vacations with his children. He was a lifetime member of St. John Cantius, where as a young man he would shovel coal into the boiler to heat the church in the winter months.
He was a happy man and had a smile on his face every day until he was welcomed into God’s hands on July 30, 2021, at the age of 96 years and 10 months.
Grateful for having shared Marcellus’ life are his children: Charlene (Ken) Hackbarth, Seaside, CA, Myron (Pamela) Drietz, Backus, MN, Duane Drietz, Marshall, MN, Christine (Randy) Kraus, St. Leo, MN, and Keith Drietz, Ivanhoe, MN; son-in-law, Michael Clark, Galesville, WI; three sisters-in-laws, Joan Lipinski, Mary Sik and Helen Sik; 10 grandchildren: Denise Erwin, Perry (Jeanne) Clark, Gabriel (Debbie) Clark, Matthew (Amanda) Drietz, Shannon (Johann) Bragger, Benjamin (Ashley) Drietz, Brandon Kraus, Angela (Ben) Madison, Kayla (Tyler) Bosch and Nicole Kraus and numerous great-grandchildren along with numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. He is preceded in death by his parents; his wife; his daughter, Linda Clark and his siblings: Harry, Lawrence, Clem, Emily, Irene and Angeline.