Eugene George Ditter
Passed away peacefully in his sleep on July 18, 2020 at Lake Winona Manor in Winona MN.
He was born on September 9, 1936 son of George and Esther (Blanck) Ditter at their home in Graham’s Corners of rural Saint Cloud, WI.
He attended Glenbeulah High School and Moraine Park Technical College of Fond du Lac where he studied industrial arts and machining.
On January 24, 1956 he proudly joined and served the U.S. Army, as a communications squad leader. He was one of only a few men who survived a plane crash in the Mekong River in Korea and was honorably discharged on November 13, 1957.
On January 22, 1955 he married Marilyn K. Gahagan and they had four children. On September 25, 1965 he married Judith M. Karls and they had two children. On September 2, 1988 he married Candy (Lillian) Hornberger.
He worked various jobs, but was primarily a master machinist most of his working career. He retired at the age of 67 from Fastenal in Winona, MN.
After retirement he volunteered serving senior citizens and the disabled. He had a life-long interest in helping the disadvantaged. He enjoyed making other people happy and always had a great sense of humor. His philosophy was "if you meet someone without a smile, give them one of your own" or when strangers would tell him to have a good day he would reply “and you have a better one!” He loved the outdoors, exploring nature and the countryside with his wife Candy, fishing, football and spending time with his family. Also important to him was his Catholic faith and he had served as an altar boy as a child.
A very special thank you to the staff and personnel of Lake Winona Manor who took exceptional care of Gene during his extensive residency, always treating him as if he was a member of their own family.
On September 10th, a day after what would have been our Father’s 84th birthday, he was interred at Preston Veteran’s Cemetery. I was fortunate enough to be able to be there for it and to ensure Candy could attend as well. There wasn’t any ceremony arrangements held at the cemetery and we were only allowed to his grave sight after he was interred. So, we planned for a Celebration of Life on October 10th with a Flag Folding Ceremony at Lakeside Park near two of his Sister’s memorial benches and also near where his bench will be installed next Spring. It was a small family gathering and it turned out very nice. I am so glad we planned this for him. It gave me a huge sense of warmth and completeness to have a proper service for him. Although many could not attend due to COVID, we were appreciative of those who did and kept everyone in our thoughts that day.
