Richard Clarion Walvatne

Funeral services for the Reverend Richard Walvatne will be held Wednesday December 30th at 3:00 PM at Gethsemane Lutheran Church in Rochester. The Reverend David Rinden will officiate. Burial, at a later date, will be at the Elim Lutheran Brethren Cemetery, rural Clearbrook, Minnesota. Rev. Walvatne, 76, of Rochester, died Friday December 25, 2009 at his home.

Richard Clarion Walvatne was born June 10, 1933 in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, the son of Edwin and Bertha Walvatne. Raised in Fergus Falls, he attended Moorhead State Teachers' College, and then the Lutheran Brethren Seminary in Fergus Falls. He married Bernice Ness on August 10, 1956 in Ferndale, Washington. Rev. Walvatne served churches in Aiken, Minnesota, Malta, Montana, Hagen, Saskatchewan, Bellingham, Washington, Great Falls, Montana, and Clearbrook, Minnesota, retiring in 2005. He then served as an interim pastor in rural Mondovi, Wisconsin. He was a member of Gethsemane Lutheran Church in Rochester.

He is survived by his wife, Bernice Walvatne of Rochester; a daughter, Karen (Andrew) Chiu of Duluth; two sons, Kenneth (Nancy) Walvatne, and Donald (Kelli) Walvatne, both of Rochester; eight grandchildren, Sara (Jason) Meyer, Alexa Chiu, Marc Chiu, Kristin Walvatne, Benjamin Walvatne, Kelly Walvatne, Lillian Mulholland, and Harold Mulholland; two great-grandchilren, Brennan and Kaden Meyer; two brothers, the Rev. Elwin (Hanna) Walvatne, and Norman (Charlotte) Walvatne, both of Fergus Falls; and two sisters, Caroline (Jim) Rindahl of Plover, Wisconsin, and Arlene (Wayne) Jorud of Fergus Falls; and nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents.

Friends may call Tuesday from 5:00 to 8:00 PM at Mahn Family Funeral Home, Rochester Chapel, where a prayer service will be held at 7:00 PM. The visitation will contine one hour prior to the service on Wednesday at the church.

If so desired, memorials may be directed to a charity of the donor's choosing.