Earl J. Stroh

earl stroh

July 21, 1930 ~ June 13, 2013

Earl Joseph Stroh, age 82 of Forest Lake went to be with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on June 13, 2013. Earl was born in Herrick, South Dakota on 21 July 1930. He attended Burke High School and then worked on the family farm until being inducted into the U.S. Army in 1952. Earl was a Korean War Veteran serving in theater with the 58th Signal Support Company. After his discharge he continued his education and received his Bachelors of Arts in Bible from North Central Bible College. Earl retired from the U.S. Post Office working in Minneapolis for over two decades. After retirement he enjoyed being the Wal-Mart Man for 20 years greeting people at both the Brainerd and the Forest Lake locations. He and his wife shared the Gospel in many Senior Citizen Homes for over a quarter of a century. Earl enjoyed fishing, reading books and always had a song in his heart which he continuously shared with others. Preceded in death by parents, Theobald Steve and Lydia (Fuhrman) Stroh; sister, Erma Parish; and twin brothers, Edwin Stroh and Edrine Stroh. Earl will be deeply missed by wife, Shirley; children, Pamela Stroh, Kevin Stroh, Karen (Jon) Thorell, Diane (Ken) Beers, Stephen Nielsen, Mark Nielsen, James (Lisa) Nielsen and Donna Galloway; 22 grandchildren; 13 great grandchildren; 2 great great grandchildren; brother, Jacob (Wilma) Stroh; nieces, nephews, other relatives and many friends. Visitation 6-8 PM Wed., June 19th at Roberts Family Funeral Home, 555 Centennial Dr. SW, Forest Lake. Funeral service 10 AM Thurs., June 20th at Maranatha Assembly of God, 24799 Forest Blvd., Forest Lake with visitation beginning at 9 AM. Lunch will follow. Interment Fort Snelling National Cemetery 2PM Assembly #4. Memorials to International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. PO Box 96105, Washington DC 20090-6105.

View current weather.

Memories Timeline

Guestbook

  1. Dear Stroh Family,

    I was checking on service details for a friend and noticed this obituary for Earl. I am saddened to learn of your loss. You know better than anyone on this earth what a very special man of God Earl was. However, you need to know that every single person he encountered on this earth knew it also. I knew Earl’s name; I don’t think he knew mine. But that didn’t stop him from making sure that I felt welcomed and blessed each time he talked to me. The light of Christ shone through his eyes! What peace and joy you must feel knowing that he is with his Saviour Jesus Christ. Thank you for sharing your husband, father and grandfather with the rest of the world!

  2. Earl Was Such A kind and lovable man whenever I would come to Walmart with my 2 year old daughter he would say there is that cute little princess again he was always talking to her and telling me how cute she was I am so blessed to have experiance his love even just for those small moments and my heart hurts everytime I walk into Walmart and realize his smilling face will not be greeting me at the door But I know someday when my time comes and I walk through the doors of heaven there is no doubt in my mind his smilling face will be staring back at me and in that I have comfort RIP you are missed by more then you could have ever imagined

  3. We were so saddened to hear of Earl’s passing. Such a genuine, caring man with a huge heart. My little boys always looked forward to seeing him and getting their sticker. WalMart will not be the same without him. He will be missed!

  4. I will always remember your smile everywhere I saw you,at wal-mart,or church and at Lake Geneva Bible Camp. My husband Rev. Al Portinga thought the world of you.Now you are both with the Lord.

  5. What a great loss! What a gentle and kind man – may God be praised and glorified because of the life Earl lived! Peace of Christ to his family and eternal rest for Earl. God Bless!

  6. There was always a smile and warm handshake every time I walked into Wal-Mart. I missed that today, with a little sadness in my heart but a smile on my face, when I walked in and realized that Earl would no longer be there to share those with me. But I do know that he will be there to greet us in Heaven 🙂 I thank God for people like Earl and can only hope and pray that I can be more like him. Bless you Stroh family, thank you for sharing your husband, father and grandpa with us all.

    Earl – It broke our hearts to lose you
    But you didn’t go alone
    For part of us went with you
    That day that God called you home.

    See you soon my friend 🙂

  7. He always had a smile on his face, it was clear he was a child of God. He made everyone feel special, like you we’re his friend. The world was made better by his being in it. He has no idea how many souls were touched by him.

  8. r.i.p earl i remember me and jack would tell jokes and talk during my wal-mart run from 06-09 sad to here of your passing he was a nice man

  9. Earl, Walmart wont be the same without you. Thank you for the warm smiles and love in your heart. You will be greatly missed by many.

  10. I am deeply saddened, I do not think I will ever have another trip to Walmart that will be quite the same. I surly looked forward to his smiling face and love he showed to everyone he met. Heaven is indeed a happier place today.

  11. Earl was a light to this community! He was excellent at his job and loved others well! Heaven welcomed home a true and steadfast disciple and I’m sure he was received as one of God’s true hero’s, Peace and prayers to the family!

  12. Earl, you were such a beautiful part of our community here in Forest Lake! You were truly one of a kind and we will miss your smiling friendly face! Rest in peace! Hopefully, with our Lord and Savior, you now know how many lives you touched.

  13. EARL IS A DEAR FRIEND OF OURS & WE’LL MISS, HIM DEEPLY. WE LOVED HIS TENDER HEART, COMMPASSIONATE NATURE, GIFT OF MUSIC & HUMOR, BUT MOST OF ALL HIS LOVE FOR JESUS. NOW THE PARTY IN HEAVEN CAN OFFICIALLY BEGIN.

  14. RIP Earl your heart and soul has touched many people while you were with us on this path..And enjoyed you and my neighbor till we meet again…

  15. I loved going into Walmart and seeing Earl. He was always so friendly. Then to my delight I discovered we attended the same church! He would tell me if he saw Pastor Mike that day and if he was still in the store. My daughter loved to see Earl and give him hugs too.

  16. Earl and his wife frequented the Library at Maranatha–always looking for DVD’s on Israel and end time events. I marveled at his interest to learn at such a late age in life. He truly loved the Lord. I was blessed to see that memorials were to be sent to “The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews”. That is so like him even after death. I’m sad for our loss of him here, but happy that I know he is with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! Blessings on his family.

  17. It is amazing to me that a small interaction on a frequent basis could provide such an impact on someone’s life. Earl was a master of these moments. My little girls always knew they could count on a sticker from him and genuine interest in their day. And I was always blessed with his amazing smile and wonderful small talk. Please accept my condolences, I will certainly miss him.

  18. Earl always had such a positive out look on life and his smile was so infectious. He was a joy to be around and a great man! I don’t know that Wal-Mart will ever find a better door greeter then Earl!!! Heaven gained an amazing man this week.

  19. I remember working with Earl @ Wal*MART. He was the nicest guy to have around. Always making people laugh and smiling!! RIP Earl. Will miss you

  20. For The last 12 years, It has been an honor to know him. He was one of a kind, a man of great joy and happiness personified…a True Spirit…He touched Lots of lives greeting our fellow man…His Smile, his joy for Life shining to make the world a better place… touching One soul at a time….he will be missed by all who knew him….

    God bless His Wife and Family….

  21. On behalf of the Forest Lake American Legion Post 225, we give thanks for Earl’s military service to our nation.

  22. Earl was the most wonderful friend and he would always pray for me when I was having health problems and he became family to me. I looked forward when Earl and I would work together. I am heart broken and will miss him dearly. I love you Earl with all my heart and more. I will never forget you. Rest in Peace my dear friend. My prayer to Shirley and Kevin and all his family and friends.

  23. My heart and prayers go out to Shirley and family for their loss. I had the pleasuere of working with Earl at WalMart. He was truly one of God’s angels – guiding your way into WalMart and through life with smiles, stickers, and prayers. You will be dearly missed!

  24. Giving my child stickers at walmart may you rest in peace! We will miss u and think of u when we go into walmart!

  25. I was hurting/my heart was breaking…there was Earl…praying for God to make things right for me and made me feel like 100 bucks…because of his ways…a perfect gentlemen in everyway with the sweetest and kindest mannerism…Love you Earl to Heaven and beyond…I will miss you, but always remember you!

  26. He certainly was the “Wal Mart Man” and we were all blessed to be greeted by Earl. Wal Mart lost a very valuable employee, but now Earl is standing at heavens door greeting everyone.

  27. I will always remember Earl and his smile. He was the sweetest man. He would always greet me by saying there’s Kris one of my favorite cashiers. I will miss him lots. :'( I know he is in heaven singing with the angels.

  28. Earl was a wonderful man. He put a smile on my face everytime I seen him. He would sing a beautiful song to people, and this shows you what a wonderful person he was……. in fact I am choking up just thinking about it, everytime he seen someone not feeling well or not doing well he would put his arm around that person and would ask if he could pray for them. Earl you will be deeply missed.


Sign the Guestbook, Light a Candle