SHERBURN — Mass of Christian Burial for J. Paul “Slop” Schlaphoff, 75, of rural Sherburn will be 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019, at St. Luke’s Catholic Church in Sherburn, with Father Jonathon Fasnacht as Celebrant. Burial will be in St. Luke’s Catholic Cemetery, Sherburn, Minn.

Paul died peacefully in his sleep Monday morning, Oct. 7, 2019 at his home in rural Sherburn. Visitation will be from 5-8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11, 2019, at Kramer Family Funeral Home in Sherburn, and one hour prior to the service Saturday at the church. There will be a 4:30 p.m. Masonic service by the Chain of Lakes Lodge 64 of Fairmont Friday at the funeral home.

Messages of sympathy may be sent to the family online at www.kramerfuneralhome.com

Paul was born Feb. 24, 1944, in Lincoln, Neb., to John and Blanche (Anderson) Schlaphoff. He graduated from Lincoln Southeast High School. Paul worked his way through Westmar College in Le Mars, Iowa, with the help of his own tree-cutting business. In 1968, Paul moved to West Yellowstone, Mont., where he taught self-contained eighth grade (his favorite class to teach) and history. Eventually, he left teaching to become a full-time lumberjack and spend as much time as possible in the Montana woods that he loved. In 1973, Paul relocated back to Le Mars, where he and his friend Jerry Treinen owned and operated S&T Tree Service.

In the summer of 1973, Paul met Irene Theobald through mutual friends in Le Mars. Despite a disastrous blind first date, Paul managed to win Irene over, and soon enough Irene overtook Montana as the greatest love in Paul’s heart. The two were married May 25, 1974, at St. Luke’s. They welcomed their son Aaron in 1976, followed by their daughter Paula in 1977, and their daughter Mary in 1981.

From 1979-1981, Paul taught industrial arts at Westfield High School in Westfield, Iowa. In 1981, he and Irene made a decision to move to Sherburn, Minn., to take over Irene’s family’s farm. Paul worked Mule Town Farms in partnership with Irene’s cousin John Theobald until Paul’s retirement in 2009. While farming, Paul also worked as a gunsmith and cabinet maker, frequently partnering with Don Swanson for larger cabinet jobs.

He served as an official observer for the National Weather Service from 1994 to 2019.

Paul was a member of the Masonic Lodge, the Shriners, and the Single Action Shooting Society (SASS), and was a life member of the National Rifle Association. In 2010, in conjunction with friends, he founded a Cowboy Action shooting club, the Fort Belmont Regulators, in Jackson, Minn.

Irene was the love of Paul’s life until the end, and the two went on many adventures together throughout their years of marriage. He spoke often of how proud he was of his kids. Paul loved hunting, mountains, horses, black lab dogs, shooting sports, dog sledding, Montana, history (especially the history of the American West), politics, music, cribbage, pinochle and marbles. Twice he completed the 1,300-mile Chief Joseph Appaloosa Trail Ride, tracing the trail of the Nez Perce Tribe in their 1877 flight from the U.S. Army. He took many trips with his family as well, including a month-long road trip to Alaska in 1987, a visit to the Hudson Bay in Canada in 1988, two Missouri River canoe trips following portions of the route taken by Lewis & Clark, trail rides in the Bob Marshall Wilderness, canoeing in the boundary waters of northern Minnesota, and many more. He went through the Panama Canal in 2006. In 2015, Paul lived his life-long dream of hunting on safari in South Africa.

He generously spent his time helping friends and neighbors in building and repair projects, gunsmithing, and farming whenever a need arose. He always enjoyed a good challenge.

Paul leaves behind his wife, Irene; son, Aaron (Paul Krieger); daughter, Mary; brothers-in-law, Ron Mertens and Jim (Lyn) Theobald; sister-in-law, Ann Johannsen; nieces and nephews, Michael (Andrea) McCarron, Craig (Becky) Mertens, Michelle (Mike) Chesterfield, Kathy (Anthony) Charlton, Jacqueline Theobald, Maggie Senne, and James (Heidi Angwall) Theobald; several grand-nieces and nephews; and other family and friends throughout the United States and the world.

Paul was preceded in death by his daughter, Paula; parents, John and Blanche Schlaphoff; sister, Marilyn Mertens; and parents-in-law, Francis and Clara Theobald.

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