Keith L. Presler, age 89, of Padua, passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family Nov. 20, 2024, at the Quiet Oaks Hospice House in St. Augusta.
A memorial service will be at 1 p.m. Friday, Dec. 6, at Big Grove Lutheran Church in rural Belgrade with the Rev. Lisa Meshke officiating. Inurnment will be in the parish cemetery.
Visitation will be 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday at the church.
Keith Leslie Presler was born Sept. 5, 1935, in Fort Dodge, Iowa, to Leslie and Anna (Ekstrom) Presler. He was raised in Iowa and graduated from Eagle Grove High School in 1953, where he was very active in the FFA. When he was 15, Keith met Esther Torkelson on the ballfield during vacation Bible school. The two attended the same church, but went to rival schools of Eagle Grove and Humboldt. One month after Esther graduated high school, the couple married June 26, 1955, at Ullensvang Lutheran Church in Thor, Iowa. Together they farmed in Iowa for one year while Keith also worked for John Deere and Esther worked at the bank. A year later they moved to Truman, Minnesota, where they farmed for five years before moving to the Sauk Centre area. In 1969, they moved to suburban Padua, where they farmed until retiring in 2006. For many of those years, they farmed with Keith’s brother-in-law, Paul Moklebust, and close family friend, Richard Rooney.
He was a member of Big Grove Lutheran Church in rural Belgrade where he served as vice president of the church council, served on the cemetery board, and also served on the Belgrade Co-op board. Keith enjoyed farming, fishing, playing horseshoes and attending the activities of his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Survivors include his children, Kevin Presler of Royalton, Kathleen (Barry) Johnson of Sauk Centre, Kent (Therese) Presler of Rice, Kraig (JoAnn) Presler of Brandon, South Dakota, Kyle (Susan) Presler of Cave Creek, Arizona, and Kristopher (Sheila) Presler of Eau Claire, Wisconsin; 24 grandchildren and 27 great-grandchildren with one on the way; brother and sister, Kenneth Presler of Fort Dodge, Iowa, and Kathryn “Kitty” Ersland of Scottsdale, Arizona.
Keith was preceded in death by his wife of 69 years, Esther Presler on June 23, 2024; parents; and sister, Donna Moklebust.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Big Grove Lutheran Church.
