Luther Dean &uot;Luke&uot; Hermanson, age 65, of Lester Prairie, Minn., peacefully passed away at his home surrounded by his family on Saturday, July 2, 2005, after a courageous and dignified battle with cancer.

He was born on Aug.13, 1939 in Forest City, Iowa, the son of Charles and Annabelle Hermanson.

Luke was raised on a farm by Leland, Iowa, graduated from high school in Forest City, Iowa, and DeVry Tech in Chicago, Ill., with a degree in electronics.

He married his beloved wife of 48 years, Katherine Eidahl, on Aug. 17, 1957.

God blessed their marriage with four daughters.

Luke owned and operated Hermanson TV in Emmons, worked in Lake Mills, Iowa, as an electrician at Deluxe Products/Fleetguard for many years and was plant manager at LM Plastics.

Luther later worked at Polyfoam in Lester Prairie for the past 28 years and was currently Vice-President of Manufacturing.

While Luke lived in Lake Mills he was a Boy Scout Leader, taught Sunday School at Salem Lutheran Church, was a member of The Chamber of Commerce, was an EMT on the Ambulance Squad and taught EMT classes and was a Red Cross instructor.

While in Lester Prairie he was a first responder on the ambulance and fire department, was a member of Bethel Lutheran Church and served on its Church Council. In addition, he was involved in a mentoring program for a special young man, Eric.

Luke will be dearly missed by his loving wife, Kathy of Lester Prairie;

daughters: Brenda (Tim) Schmitz of Marcell, Minn, Patty (Jody) Hocking and Lucienne (Dave) Wurster, all of Owatonna, and Karalee (Jim) Byl of Osceola, Wis.; grandchildren: Jessica and Justin, Mandra and Chris, Lindsey and Eric, Stephanie, Alexandra and Nate, Dylan, Madison, Bryce, Mariah and Megan; great grandchildren: James, Jackson and Anna Mae; brothers: Gene and Jerry, and a sister, Marcia, and their spouses; many nieces and nephews; and wonderful friends and co-workers.

He was preceded in death by his parents: Charles and Annabelle Hermanson.

Funeral Services for Luther &uot;Luke&uot; Hermanson will be held 11 a.m.Thursday, July7, at Bethel Lutheran Church in Lester Prairie. th Rev. Sherri L. Sandoz will officiate and interment will follow at Forest Hill Cemetery in Owatonna on Thursday afternoon at 4:30 p.m.

Friends may call on Wednesday, July 6, from 4 to 8 p.m. at The Chilson Funeral Home in Winsted, Minn.

Honorary Casket Bearers are Carol Telecky, Laura Koechler and Roman Widmer.

Casket Bearers are Joe Casavant, Victor Groe, Bill Rogers, Bob Humbelt, Dale Klug and Gilbert Paul.