Gordon W. Oltman
FAIRMONT — A funeral service for Gordon “Gordy” W. Oltman, 96, of Fairmont, Minn., will be held 1:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 25, 2021, at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Fairmont. Full military honors provided by the Lee C. Prentice American Legion Post 36 and Martin County Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1222 will be held following the service. Burial will be in Fairview Memorial Park, Fairmont. Visitation will be from 12:30-1:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 25, 2021, at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Fairmont. Memorials may be given to St. Paul Lutheran Church in Fairmont. Lakeview Funeral Home in Fairmont is assisting the family with arrangements.
Beloved father, Gordon Willis Oltman, died Thursday, Oct. 21, 2021, at Lakeview Nursing Home. He was born March 30, 1925 in Martin County and was 96 years old. Gordy, as he was known to most people, missed his wife Beverly terribly after her death last year on Sept. 11, 2020. They were married for 72 years. They had two children Steven and Carol and a son Mark, who died soon after his birth. Gordon served in the U.S. Navy in World War II, where he saw active combat as a gunner on a number of ships. Although he didn’t often talk about it, he was proud of his service. He was only 17 when he enlisted, and had transformative experiences that stayed with him his whole life. He shared some of these with us in the last weeks of his life. He wanted to be in the air force so he could learn to fly but when he was placed in the navy instead so he learned to fly when he came home to Martin County, and bought a plane. He talked often of growing up and working on his parent’s farm with his brother Thorall. Gordy loved dogs and spoke affectionately of his collie, “Pal” who helped him bring the cows in from the fields at night for milking. He took his kids fishing and loved nature, especially ducks. It was the fulfillment of a long-held dream when he and Bev got to take a trip to Alaska after retirement. He was a woodworker and made a canoe that he painted blue, as well as refinishing furniture for many people. Gordy worked at Northland Beverages for many years and made friends with his coworkers and people all through southern Minnesota as he traveled on his service route. Gordy and Bev loved to play cards with their friends and treasured these friends their whole lives.
Gordon Willis Oltman died Oct. 21, 2021, at Lakeview Nursing Home after a short illness. He is survived by his son, Steve Oltman and his wife Lorrie, and their three children, Brittney (Oltman), Mast and her husband, Andrew, and their two children, Emilee and Daniel, Sam, and Josh and his wife Sara; his daughter, Carol (Oltman) Hazard and her husband, Stuart, and their daughter Anna Hazard-Flowers and her husband Adam. He is also survived by many wonderful nieces and nephews. www.lakeviewfuneralhome.net
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