Howard 'Jiggs' Blanck
Howard Harvey "Jiggs" Blanck, age 73, of Brainerd, was called home to the Lord on Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2009, at the St. Cloud Hospital after a lengthy battle with cancer.
He was born May 30, 1936, in Brainerd, Minn., to Howard A. and Lois S. (Hanson) Blanck.
Howard 'Jiggs' Blanck
He attended Brainerd Schools and graduated from Washington High School in 1954. He attended Brainerd Junior College, where he also was a standout basketball player. Jiggs attended Bemidji State and St. Cloud State as well.
He was a U.S. Army veteran where he served as a private secretary to a two-star general at Fort Hood, Texas.
He married Kathryn J. Owen, March 4, 1961, in El Dorado, Kansas, and was blessed with three daughters he was extremely proud of.
He worked for many years in the newspaper industry as a circulation manager in Kansas, Missouri, Indiana and Minnesota, as a publisher of the Walker Pilot, Cass County Independent and Crow Wing County Review and as business manager of the Brainerd Daily Dispatch. In recent years he was self-employed in the ad specialty business with Brown and Bigelow, St. Paul.
He was a JCI Senator (Jaycees International) of which he was very proud. He was actively involved in community affairs, served on the Brainerd City Council and was a recipient of the city of Brainerd's Tower Award. He was a city charter commissioner, past member of the County Board of Adjustment, City Park Board, County Transportation Committee, a charter member of the Brainerd Schools Foundation and the Brainerd High School Distinguished Academic Hall of Fame Committee. He served as chairman of the Camp Confidence Celebrity Classic on two different occasions. He was an avid supporter of Warrior athletics as well as Gopher athletics, helping with the U of M Dutch Open for the past several years. He loved playing golf with his "Legion Buddies" on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Jiggs was a longtime member of Zion Lutheran Church and over the years he had served on the Board of Elders and other committees.
He is survived and will be dearly missed by his wife of 48-1/2 years, Kathryn; three daughters, Deborah (Mike) Lovelace, Fargo, N.D., Dianna (Kevin) Kiehlbauch, Brainerd, and Delinda (Marc) Rood of Eagan, Minn.; two granddaughters, Abigayle and Alliahna Kiehlbauch; two brothers and sisters-in-law, Duane (Carolyn), of Nisswa, and Gerald (Tessie), of Brainerd; several nieces and nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents and an infant sister, Beverly Lois.
Services will be held Monday at 11 a.m. at Zion Lutheran Church with visitation on Sunday from 2-6 p.m. at Halvorson-Johnson Funeral Home and one hour prior to the service at the church. Interment with military honors by the American Legion Post 255 will be at Evergreen Cemetery.