Francis W. “Windy” Linder, 86, of Easton died Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016, at St. Luke’s Lutheran Care Center in Blue Earth,. A Mass of Christian burial will be at 10 a.m. Monday at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church in Easton. Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. today at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church in Easton. Visitation will continue one hour prior to the service at the church on Monday. The Rev. Andrew Vogel and Deacon Gene Paul will officiate.  Interment will be in Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Cemetery in Barber Township in Faribault County, with military honors accorded by Easton American Legion Post No. 569. Bruss-Heitner Funeral Home is assisting the family. To leave an online condolence visit www.brussheitner.com.

Francis W. was born Jan. 15, 1930, the son of Otto and Wilhelmine (Ziegler) Linder in Easton.  He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean Conflict. After serving his country, Francis was united in marriage to Agnes Mary Volz on June 26, 1956, in Minnesota Lake.

Francis was a lifelong member of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, a member of the Knights of Columbus and a proud member of Easton American Legion Post No. 569.

Francis loved his wife of almost 45 years, children and grandchildren. He loved nothing more than having his family at home and around him.

Francis was born and raised on the family farm his grandfather homesteaded in 1866. He took great pride in the beauty of his farm site and land, and spent endless hours caring for it. He raised 19,000 laying hens and sold MoorMan’s feed for many years. Francis always had a white German sheppard following close behind him around the dooryard.

In his free time, Francis was an avid bowler and enjoyed many fishing trips with his longtime friends.

Francis is survived by his children Bryan (wife, Monica) Linder and Don (wife, Nancy) Linder, all of Easton; Jean (husband, Stevan) Huber of Rochester, Lisa (husband, John) Hayes of Victoria and Jennifer Linder of Orono; 15 grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; two sisters, Mary Wold of Burnsville and Millie (Dale) Hansen of Ormsby; sister-in-law, Virginia (husband, Orland) Drager, of Minnesota Lake; brothers-in-law John (wife, Chris) Volz of Minnesota Lake and Marc (wife, Sherry) Volz of The Woodlands, Texas; and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents and wife, Aggie, in 2001.