FAIRMONT - Services for Herbert G. Koehler, 78, of Fairmont, Minn., will be 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, August 11, 2009, at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Fairmont. Visitation will be 9 a.m. until the time of the service on Tuesday at Immanuel Lutheran Church. Burial will follow the service at Fairview Memorial Park.

Herbert passed away on Friday morning, August 7, 2009, at the Lakeview Methodist Health Care Center in Fairmont. Lakeview Funeral Home in Fairmont is in charge of arrangements.

Herbert Glen Koehler was born on February 2, 1931, in Fairmont, the son of Louis and Meta (Nolte) Koehler. He was raised on farms by Ceylon and Granada. He graduated from Concordia High School in St. Paul in 1949. He also graduated from college in River Forest, Ill., in 1953.

On August 23, 1952, Herb was united in marriage to LaVera ZumBerge at St. John's Lutheran Church in Helen Township, near Glencoe, Minn. After getting married, the Herb and LaVera lived in Illinois and Massachusetts before returning to Minnesota and residing in Fairmont. The couple shared nearly 56 years of marriage before LaVera passed away on September 23, 2008.

Herb was employed as an elementary school teacher, teaching grades one through eight. He became the school principal and served as the music director. He played the church organ at every church that he attended. Herb was a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Fairmont, where he also played the organ. When Herb needed assistance with his daily care, he became a resident of the Lakeview Methodist Health Care Center in Fairmont.

Left to cherish his memory are two sisters, Rosemary Sorenson of Fairmont, Ruth Rockett and her husband, Sam, of Lyons, Ga.; two brothers, David Koehler and his wife, Delia, of Bolivia, Minn., Mark Koehler of Pheonix, Ariz.; sisters-in-law, Clarice Henning of Belle Plaine, Minn., and Adeline Klancke and her husband, Lowell, of Hamburg, Minn.; one aunt, Berniece Nolte of Fairmont; many special nieces and nephews; other relatives and friends. Along with his parents, Louis and Meta Koehler, his wife, LaVera Koehler, Herb was also preceded in death by two blind sisters, Joy and Jeannette Koehler.

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