John LeRoy Evjen, 81, of Lake Mills, died on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2013, at Muse Norris Hospice Unit in Mason City.

Memorial services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Salem Lutheran Church in Lake Mills with the Rev. David E. Jordon officiating.

Family will greet friends one hour prior to the service on Saturday at the church.

Inurnment will take at a later date at Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in Troy, S.D.

John LeRoy Evjen was born on May 4, 1932, in Troy, to John and Agnes (Osterkil) Evjen. He was the youngest of nine children. He was baptized and confirmed at the Lutheran church in Troy. After attending school and working on the family farm, John headed west, ending up in Seattle. He worked for Boeing Industries, where he helped to build the first B-52 bomber off the assembly line, among other planes. John then returned to Watertown, S.D.

On Aug. 4, 1956, John was united in marriage with Joyce Marie Nelson. The couple moved to Lake Mills where John began working at Cool Springs. He then went to work at Weyerhaeuser Industries in Albert Lea where he worked for more than 25 years. Upon their closing, John began working at Fleetguard in Lake Mills until retirement.

After he retired, John and Joyce became frequent long-distance travelers, spending time with their daughter and her family in California, and son and his family in South Texas. Eventually, the two became winter Texans spending them at Lake Corpus Christi until Joyce’s passing in 2011.

Growing up and throughout his life, John loved to hunt and fish; especially fishing. He was not a catch-and-release kind of guy. He loved good fish. He also enjoyed bowling, being on a league for several years and earning the nickname Johnny Ebonite. John also loved watching the Vikings and the Twins, except when they were losing.

John was a lifetime member of Salem Lutheran Church. He was also a longtime member of the Lake Mills Senior Citizens Club.

John is survived by his son, Jim (Rose) Evjen of Portland, Texas; son-in-law, Tom Ramthun of Lake Mills; three grandchildren, Jennifer Ramthun of Ames, Iowa, and Taniesha Evjen and Dakota Evjen both of Fort Worth, Texas; sister, Vivian Larson of Watertown; sisters-in-law, Joyce Evjen of Strandburg, S.D., Marilyn Evjen of Stockholm, S.D., Delores Roberts and Donna Miller of Watertown, Barbara (Dennis) Meseberg of Ontario, Calif., and Dorothy Barck of Marshall; brother-in-law, Jerry (Deb) Nelson of Lawrence, Kan.; and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and their families.

He was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Joyce; daughter, Janice Ramthun; grandson, Matthew Ramthun; three brothers, Ray, Lloyd and Loyal; and four sisters, Adelle, Helen, Ruth and Nordis.

The family can be contacted with online condolences at www.mittelstadtfuneralhome.com. The funeral home can be reached at 641-592-0221.