Michael Henry Haenke

Obituary of Michael Haenke Michael Henry Haenke died September 20, 2016 in Oxford, Florida. He was born on June 2, 1920, to William H. and Mae (Johnson) Haenke. He lived his first five years with his mother and grandfather, John A. Johnson, in Leonidas, MN. In 1926 he moved with his mother, Mrs. Clarence Alguire, to Flint, Mich., where he was raised. He spent many of his summers at the Lake Vermilion cabin of his aunt and uncle, Jennie and Sham Maki. Those summer years formed the special bond between him and his Minnesota cousins. He graduated from Flint Central High School, worked for a time, then joined the Army on Nov. 19, 1941, just days before Pearl Harbor was attacked. In 1944 he disembarked out of Fort Ord, CA to become part of an amphibious tractor unit of the 194th Field Army Regiment. Unknown to him at the time, this training was preparing for his ultimate mission, the invasion of Japan. He was in Company B of the 43rd Infantry, which was an augmentation force after the battle of Lignin Bay, 80 miles north of Manila. After the war he met his future wife, Irene McDonald, at an Legion military ball. They married in 1946. Soon afterward they moved to Minnesota, where he worked on the railroad and later at Erie Mine, raising 8 children. In the 1960s they had bought the Haenke Farm, continuing the family tradition of raising potatoes. In the early 1970s they sold the farm and purchased the Lakeshor Motor Inn in Virginia, MN and then later bought the Bell Motel in Fairmont, MN. In retirement they split time between their homes in Spring Hill, FL and Lost Lake, rural Gilbert, MN. His last few years were spent in The Villages, FL where he remained active with golf and tennis well into his 90s. He is survived by his wife of almost 70 years, Irene (McDonald); daughters, Barbara (Wes Ulrich), Karen (Gary Guimont),Marilyn (Monty Hayner), Gail (Art Gamboa), Beth (Jerry Just), Joanne (Pat Abruzzese), and son, Rod; 16 grandchildren, 12 great- grandchildren, brother Jim Haenke and sister Barbara Sonnicksen. He was preceded in death by two children, Lawrence and Kathleen; parents, William Haenke and Mae Alguire; and brothers, William, Robert and Richard. Funeral services will be held Monday, September 26, 2016 at 10 AM at St. Mark the Evangelist, Summerfield, FL. Visitation will be held Sunday, September 25, 2016 from 5 - 7 pm at the Beyers Funeral Home. A lunch will be provided at the church after the mass.

Michael Henry Haenke

June 2, 1920 - September 20, 2016