Kermit Manfred Bjorlie

Kermit Manfred Bjorlie , 102, died peacefully in his sleep in Zumbrota, MN on December 1, 2021. He was a very kind, reserved, tough and resilient (stubborn Norwegian) man who loved life and wasn’t ready to leave. He was interested in people and loved hearing their stories. He was a man of God, active in his church and delighted in his family.

Kermit was born on the family farm along the Sheyenne River in rural Pekin, ND on April 3, 1919 and attended a one-room country school before graduating from Pekin High School. He completed an Agricultural Engineering degree at North Dakota Agricultural College (now NDSU). In WWII he enlisted in the Army Air Corps and became a combat fighter pilot in the Pacific Theater. While training at Waco Army Airfield, he met his future wife, Ruth Lewis, at a USO dance and they later married in 1947. They raised three children and were together for nearly 69 years. Kermit spent his career with the US Department of Agriculture as a Soil and Water Conservationist in Forest City, IA and Zumbrota, MN.

Kermit was preceded in death by his loving wife Ruth; his parents Olaf and Louise (Enstad) Bjorlie; siblings, Orel and Helen; and granddaughter, Kaia. He is survived by his three children, Jon (Kate Kavanaugh) Bjorlie, Mark (Cheryl) Bjorlie and Carol (Steve) O’Neill; his seven grandchildren, Jack and Luke Bjorlie, Thomas (Rebecca) Bjorlie, Stacy (Jim) Fiser, Cullen (Breanna) O’Neill, Erin (Brian Hotchkiss) O’Neill and Ian (Martha Crippen) O’Neill; and his ten great grandchildren (with two more on the way), Lydia, Annika, Tavish and Anders Bjorlie, Liesel, John and Henry Fiser, Braeden and Claire O’Neill and Margo Hotchkiss.

A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. on Friday, December 10th at United Redeemer Lutheran Church, Zumbrota; urlchurch.org. There will be a visitation at the church at noon immediately preceding the service. Interment will be at Fort Snelling National Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to United Redeemer Lutheran Church. Arrangements are being handled by Mahn Family Funeral Home - Larson Chapel of Zumbrota. Condolences may be expressed to the family at mahnfamilyfuneralhome.com