General Information
Full Name: Richard Joseph Fleck
Date of Birth: June 24, 1937
Date of Death: May 6, 2013
Dick’s life story
Fleck, Richard “Dick” Joseph
On June 24, 1937 in Morrill, MN, Richard Joseph Fleck was born to parents Joseph and Magdalene (Bower) Fleck. He was the oldest of five children. Being the oldest, and the only boy in the family, Dick liked to play practical jokes on his younger sisters. He liked it so much, he continued for the rest of his life.
Dick met the love of his life, Ruth Ann Knoblauch, and after a short time of courtship, they married on August 31, 1957 at St. Albert the Great Catholic Church in Minneapolis. They were blessed with 3 boys, Rick, Ron and Randy.
He started his career spending three years with the Milwaukee Railroad. Dick then spent the next 25 years at Hitchcock Industries in Bloomington in Quality Assurance. He then joined LeSueur Incorporated where he was employed for 22 years as a Sales Engineer. He also owned and operated R&R Specialties where he repaired and modified snowmobiles and sold snowmobile parts.
The greatest joys in Dick’s life were snowmobiles and bowling. A member of the Prior Lake Snowmobile Association, he participated in many radar runs. Dick always wanted to be the fastest. If not, Dick would go back and modify the snowmobile assuring he was the fastest. A love for bowling, he bowled in leagues and tournaments. Dick was fortunate once to bowl a 300 and a 298 game. He even appeared on the TV show Bowling for Dollars.
Adventurous and perfectionist by nature, Dick was a loving, caring and charismatic husband, dad, grandpa and brother. The early morning hours of Monday, May 6, 2013 Dick was 75 years old when he passed away peacefully at St. Francis Regional Medical Center in Shakopee, MN.
Deeply missed and remembered always by those who loved Dick, wife of 57 years, Ruth Ann of Prior Lake; sons, Rick (Sandi) Fleck of Prior Lake, Ron (Marlys) Fleck of Prior Lake, Randy (Kim) Fleck of Rogers; grandchildren, Chris, Kelli, Sara, Joe, Amanda, Katie, Lizzie; sisters, Yvonne McQuoid of Brainerd, Janice Theis of St. Paul, Shirley Thorman of Arizona, Kathy (Jim) Jones of California; other loving relatives and devoted friends.
Dick is preceded in death by his parents and Ruth Ann’s parents; brothers-in-law, Denny Theilen, Keith McQuoid, Donny Theis, and sister-in-law Jean Knoblauch.
Pall bearers for Dick will be Chris Fleck, Joe Fleck, Bob Leiferman, David Kallis, Carl White, Danny Clough and Dan Hoese.
The visitation will be on Thursday, May 9, from 4-7 pm at Ballard-Sunder Funeral Home 4565 Pleasant Street SE, Prior Lake and one hour prior to the mass at the church. The Mass of Christian Burial will be on Friday, May 10 at 11 am, at the Church of St. Michael 16311 Duluth Avenue SE, Prior Lake. Father Tom Sieg will preside. Dick will be laid to rest at St. Michael Catholic Cemetery in Prior Lake.
The Fleck family is served with honor, care and compassion by Ballard-Sunder Funeral Home and Cremation Services, Prior Lake Chapel. www.ballardsunderfuneral.com
Visitation
When: Thursday, May 9, 2013, 4-7 pm
Location: Ballard – Sunder Funeral Home
Address: 4565 Pleasant Street SE
Prior Lake, MN 55372
Service Information
When: Friday, May 10, 2013, 11:00 am
Location: Church of St. Michael
Address: 16311 Duluth Ave SE
Prior Lake, MN
Interment
St. Michael Catholic Cemtery
Prior Lake, MN
