Bernard Theodore Fischbach, Jr

Good Morning! This is Bernard. Let's sit and visit a little while, as I always have liked to visit with people of all ages and see how they are doing over a hot cup of coffee. I will let the fellas at the Mellette Travel Plaza buy their own cups from now on.

My earthly life ended on January 15, 2016, at Avera Mother Joseph Manor Retirement Community - over 93 years after I was born on July 17, 1922, at St. Luke's Hospital to Bernard "Ben" T. Fischbach Sr. and Blanche (Druley) Fischbach, the oldest of five children and the last one to pass.

The Roaring Twenties flew by and we somehow made it through the Great Depression, droughts and grasshoppers as our family grew on Sunnyside Farm on the county line near Mellette, a Century Farm now. The farm was evolving from horses to tractors as I was growing up. I attended rural school until mother decided I needed more math and science. I was sent to live with Aunt Mary who was also a schoolteacher and I graduated from Aberdeen Central in 1940.

On November 25, 1940, I was activated in the United States Army after serving in the National Guard. In the spring of '41, we had additional training at Fort Ord, California. On November 15, 1941, I was promoted to Staff Sergeant of the 147th Field Artillery Unit at sea aboard the U.S.S. Holbrook en route to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. We had just left Pearl Harbor headed to the Far East when it came over the loudspeaker that the Empire of Japan had attacked. We painted the ship to help conceal it and were under black out conditions until we arrived in Darwin, Australia. For four years we were part of the island-hopping campaign in the Southwest Pacific under General MacArthur through places many had not heard of such as New Guinea and the East Indies. World War II ended and I was honorably discharged on October 1, 1945. I was ready for more quiet and simpler times.

I returned home and graduated from SDSU in Brookings in 1951 with a bachelor's degree in Animal Husbandry. There I met my first wife, Patricia Wilson, who passed away of polio on September 12, 1952, fifteen months after we were married on June 23, 1951, in Sioux Falls, SD. For several years, I studied and lived at Blue Cloud Abbey near Marvin, South Dakota. Eventually, I returned home to farm. While visiting friends who were teachers at St. Mary's in Aberdeen, I met Agnes "Alvina" Loeb who was a teacher and taking upholstery classes at Northern. I started spending a lot more time at Northern, helping with projects and eventually married my partner on September 17, 1973, here at All Saints Church in Mellette. We had many happy years together farming and raising cattle. I also worked as a mechanic/welder at Koester's in Mansfield while Alvina worked at Mellette Upholstery. I began to do more wood turning and enjoyed going to different shows and fairs. We also went to several events at Northwestern after moving to town. I have always enjoyed visiting with young people about their future plans and what was going on in their lives. I really enjoyed it when the little ones would stop by my wood shop to watch and learn.

Over the years, I was also a member of the American Legion, Disabled Veterans of America, Veterans of Foreign Wars and Forty and Eight. Partner and I also drove veterans to their doctor appointments in Sioux Falls. We eventually moved to Aberdeen where we have been cared for by wonderful people at Davis Court Apartments, Nano Nagle Village, and Avera Mother Joseph Manor Retirement Community.

Going before me were my parents; two nephews, David Fischbach and Greg Fischbach (CA); my sister Patricia; and brothers, Cyril "Bill", Don and Joe. All four of us boys served in the Army, following in our father's footsteps, who was in the Army Air Corps in World War I and our great-grandfather, Bernard Breidenbach, with the Wisconsin 17th Infantry for the Union Army in the Civil War.

I leave behind for now my partner, Agnes "Alvina", and several nieces, nephews and cousins.

You are welcome to attend my wake service at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, January 22, 2016, at Schriver's Memorial Mortuary & Crematory, 414 5th Avenue NW in Aberdeen with visitation from 4 to 7 p.m. prior to the wake that evening and Mass of Christian burial at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday January 23, 2016, at All Saints Catholic Church in Mellette. Burial will be at Calvary Cemetery in Mellette with military rites performed by the Brentford and Mellette American Legions. Following the burial, fellowship and a meal will be held at the Parish Hall.

Thank you for loving me and for the memories. I believe we will all be reunited in Christ. Thank you for your hospitality folks!