February 2026
Complete obituaries can be found in the Paynesville Press each week.
February 2026
Complete obituaries can be found in the Paynesville Press each week.
|
Vernon Kotz, 84, Belgrade
Vernon "Butch" Kotz, 84, of Belgrade, died peacefully Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, at Rice Memorial Hospital in Willmar. Mass of Christian Burial will be 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church in Belgrade with a visitation prior to the service beginning at 9:30 a.m. Burial will be in the church cemetery. A celebration of his life will be held at The Spot in Belgrade from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Arrangements are with the Johnson Funeral Home in Belgrade. www.hafh.org Vernon "Butch" Joseph Kotz was born on October 9, 1941, to Gertrude and Joseph Kotz. He grew-up in Belgrade and was raised on the family farm. After high school he traveled the country working in the farming and construction industry. He married Mary Winter on May 6, 1967. In 1968, he started his career in the restaurant business, opening Butch's Café until his retirement 33 years later. Butch loved playing cards and dice, talking and socializing with patrons in the restaurant, meeting new people, and spending time with his family and grandchildren. In retirement, he spent many days enjoying the hot summer heat at his cabin in Spicer, shirt off with sand between his toes. Butch was survived by his wife and love of his life, Mary of 58 years; three children, Wendy (David), Cory (Shari) and Jason (Greta) and their children, Carson, Jake, Jack, John, Michael, Skylar (Braxton), Bryce, Christopher (Katie), Brittany (Mike), Annika (Dimitri) and Vaughn (Paige); great-grandchildren, Jaxton, Esme, Ella, Bennett, Lylah, Lenora and Willow; ten siblings, Ron (Jan), Virginia, Max (Don), Wayne (Marcia), Maggie (Donnie), Janet, Kathy (Fornet), Mark (Mickey), Lori (Brian) and numerous cousins, brothers and sisters-in-law and friends from all over the world. Butch was preceded in death by his parents; siblings, Monica, Rosella, Julie, Gene and Brian.
Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, at Grace United Methodist Church in Paynes-ville for John Henry Jones, 91, of Paynesville. John passed away peacefully on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, at his home. Visitation will be held on Saturday at the church. Burial will take place in the Paynesville Cemetery on a later date. John was born on July 30, 1934, along with his identical twin brother Jerome, on his grandfather's farm near Hawick, Minn., to Ed and Petra Jones. He attended country school through eighth grade and served in the U.S. Army from 1957-58. He worked on a turkey farm before and after his military service. In 1961, he purchased a 120-acre farm southwest of Paynesville, as he continued to work on the turkey farm nearby. On April 15, 1961, he was united in marriage to Joan Irene Eighner at the Methodist Church in Paynesville. They farmed the land, raising crops and livestock - mostly beef cattle. John's biggest challenge was when Joan passed away unexpectedly in 1981, and he had three children to support. John enjoyed farm life, and it was hard to get him to take a break from it, but when he did, he loved playing cards with his family or friends at the senior center in town. He especially enjoyed fishing on local lakes. He was passionate about his Swedish and Norwegian heritage and had to have a meal of lutefisk and lefse at Christmas-time with his brothers every year. He always looked forward to visits from his grandchildren and especially loved being a great grandpa. John is survived by his two daughters Julie Jones (Neil Lee) of Greenfield and Kathy (John) Hanson of Monticello; daughter-in-law Kate Jones of Hutchinson; grandchildren Nicholas Lee, Joanna (Lee) Zacchea, Marshall Jones, Emma Hanson, and Abby Hanson; step-grandchildren Jessica (James) Lewandowski and Kristin Berscheit; great-grandchild, Audrey Zacchea; and step-great-grandchildren Domanik Dammann, Emerson Witte, and Margaret Lewandowski. He is also survived by three brothers, Jerome Jones of Paynesville, Paul Jones of Osseo, and Tim Jones of Corcoran; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; brothers Earl, Myron, Duane, and Glenn; his wife, Joan; and his son, Kenneth. Memorials are preferred in lieu of flowers. |