Obituary for Carrie May Hackler

Carrie May Hackler, age 97, of Osseo.

Preceded in death by husband, Bradley; son, Roy; and sisters, Mabel Olson and Gloria Boettcher.

Survived by son, Tom (Nancy) Hackler; daughter, Grace (Gary) Kottke; grandchildren, Bob Kottke, Paul (Suzie) Kottke, Brenna (Ryza) Garbacz, Jess (Heather) Hackler, and Connie (Daniel) Gallagher; 9 great grandchildren; 2 great great grandchildren; brothers, Wilbur (Ellen) Boettcher and Art Boettcher; sisters, Joyce Erickson and Betty Kirvan; and other family and friends.

Services 11 AM Saturday, January 28, at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 710 E. Broadway, Osseo.Visitation 1 hour prior to the service at church.Interment St. Paul’s Cemetery, Osseo.

Carrie May Hackler was born to Fred and Lena Boettcher on November 17, 1919.The Boettcher family, which was to include Mabel, Gloria, Carrie, Wilbur, Joyce, Art, and Betty, lived on a farm in rural Dayton MN.Carrie was received into God’s Kingdom by the waters of Baptism on July 5, 1920 at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Osseo.

The church was located on 1^st and Broadway, and although we now refer to that razed structure as the “old church”, it was built in 1915, quite new when Carrie appeared on the scene.St. Paul’s was Carrie’s church for her entire long life; it was here that she was confirmed on May 21, 1933.

The Boettcher children attended a neighboring one-room rural school; high school was not an option for farm kids of her time.Carrie met and later married Bradley Hackler on November 16, 1940.World War II was looming and when Bradley entered the military, Carrie went with him to his training on a Carolina base.Typical of her industrious nature, Carrie worked at a laundry in humid, hot Carolina.When Bradley was shipped out, Carrie returned home.

Bradley’s severe wounds in action affected the rest of both of their lives.He spent an extended time in a New Guinea hospital, but some of the shrapnel remained and complicated his later life.The family settled on a farm in Maple Grove and Bradley worked as a carpenter.Church history shows that Bradley was on the building committee when our present structure was constructed in 1959.

God blessed the couple with three children, Tom, Grace, and Roy.Bradley finally succumbed to his diminished health and died in 1969.Thus began Carrie’s 40+ years as a widow.Work in the school kitchens—both Osseo Senior and Osseo Junior—was a good fit for Carrie’s work ethic.In 1973 Carrie moved from the farm to her home on Wellington Lane in Maple Grove.Living independently there (with help from family) until age 95 is a remarkable accomplishment and is typical of her nature.

Although her family remembers that she was a good cook, but “nothing fancy”, we found several recipes that Carrie submitted for our cookbooks—her banana bread must have been a specialty.Her Hamburger Hot Dish included this personal note—“this is an easy recipe and the family liked it”.