Almost two months after a wreck at the washout of Freeborn County Road 34 claimed the life of Oakland Township man Dale Wangen, friends of the family are coming together to celebrate his life and raise money to help his family.

At an event planned for Saturday at the Holiday Inn Ballroom in Austin, there will be a Huckley Buck tournament, a silent auction, a bake sale and a raffle in Wangen’s memory. Registration for the tournament begins at 11 a.m. to noon, with the tournament starting at noon.

Prizes at the Saturday event include a flat-screen television, a digital camera and a portable DVD player. Food will be available all day with meat donated by Hormel Foods.

Wangen, 52, died June 12 after the vehicle he was driving struck an embankment and submerged in water in an area of road on County Road 34 that was washed out between County Road 21 and County Road 19.

Two other people died in a wreck at the same scene June 29.

Sue Berg, a friend of the Wangen family, said organizers specifically decided to have the tournament at the event because Wangen always enjoyed playing cards.

“He was always trying to help people in the community, and this is our way of trying to help his family,” Berg said.

Wangen grew up in Oakland and attended schools in Hayward and Albert Lea, where he graduated from Albert Lea High School in 1974.

He received a one-year degree from Riverland Community College and married Brenda K. Norland in 1976. The couple lived near Oakland most of their lives together.

Wangen was the owner-operator of Rolling Green Fencing Inc.

The couple had two daughters, Tasha Kroneman of Austin and Alice Wangen of Albert Lea, and a son, Nick Wangen of Austin.

People interested in finding out more about the event can contact Berg at work at 377-5311 or at home at 437-2641.