Lester Rowen

Lester "Les" A. Rowen, age 80, of Little Falls passed away Tuesday, May 03, 2011 at his home surrounded by his family. Mass of Christian Burial will be held Monday, May 9, 11:00 am at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Little Falls with Fr. Mark Innocenti officiating. Interment with Military Honors by the Little Falls American Legion will be in the Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery north of Little Falls. Visitation will be Sunday, May 8, from 4-8 pm and Monday, May 9, from 9:30-10:30 am all at Emblom-Brenny Funeral Service, Little Falls. Our hearts are saddened by the loss of Lester A. Rowen. Lester and his twin brother Loren were born to Edward and Myrtle Rowen on September 2, 1930 in Conde, SD. Lester was born 30 minutes after Loren. He was preceded in death by all of his siblings: Loren, Eleanor, Betty, Edward, Jack and Gordon. He was also preceded in death by an infant son, Allen, and his beloved wife of 55 years, Sally, who passed away in 2007. Lester graduated from Wessington Springs boarding school near Mitchell, SD. He served in the Army from 1947 to 1951, during the Korean War. An army friend brought him to Browerville, MN where he fell in love with Sally Peschl. They were married in 1952. He graduated from St. Cloud State University in 1955 with a degree in Business Administration. For many years he worked for a company that had antiballistic missile contracts and the family lived in several states as a result of his employment. In 1972 the family returned to MN. Les and Sally started Rowen Accounting Service, which they operated for 22 years. His favorite past time was golf, even though it provided him with a lifetime of frustration. Les enjoyed watching all sports and felt that fishing was as painful as watching paint dry! In retirement he volunteered at St. Otto's, Meals on Wheels, and the VA Hospital in St. Cloud. He was passionate about music. He was part of the Little Falls-Brainerd Lakes Barber Shoppers for many years. He loved his family of eight children: Colleen (Robert) Terrazas of Missoula, MT, Mark (Lea) of Surprise, AZ, and six children who reside in MN, John, Tom (Lisa), Denise (Gary), Bruce (Toni), Robert, and Julie (Curt) Sievert, and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Sally's sister, Noreen Gessell, Swanville, MN and her family loved him and will miss him as well. Unity Family Hospice aided the family in caring for dad in the last few days of his life. In lieu of flowers, the family would prefer a memorial in dad's name to Unity Family Hospice.