George H. Hoelz

George Henry Hoelz Jr., IV, age 82 of Belle Plaine, MN died unexpectedly on Wednesday evening, January 12, 2022 at St. Francis Regional Medical Center in Shakopee, MN.  Memorial Mass will be held at 10:30a.m. on Friday, June 17th, at Our Lady of the Prairie Catholic Church in Belle Plaine.  Fr. Michael Kaluza will officiate.  Visitation will be on Thursday the 16th from 4-7 p.m. at the Kolden Funeral Home in Belle Plaine and continue one hour prior to the Mass at church on Friday morning.

He was born on October 2, 1939 in Glencoe, MN to George Henry, III & Marie (Lorenzen) Hoelz Sr.  He grew up in Belle Plaine, MN where he attended Belle Plaine Schools.  After attending Mankato State, George proudly enlisted and served in the United States Navy.  In the summer of 1961, as luck would have it, he was destined to meet Kathleen (Kathe) M. Sykora at the Scott County Fair.   It was love at first sight and soon after George and Kathe were married on March 3, 1962 at Assumption Catholic Church in Richfield, MN.  The couple made their forever home in Belle Plaine, MN where they raised their four children.

For many years, George worked in sales and delivery with Hoelz Distributing Co., a business that was started by his father.  In his later years he enjoyed working as a custodian for Our Lady of the Prairie Church and School, Kyes Automatic, and Steffen’s Hardware all in Belle Plaine, MN.  One of many passions in his life was working with his hands.  This included woodworking, building muzzleloading rifles and pistols, crafting handmade knives, HO gauge model railroads, and radio controlled airplanes. His interest in early Native American and mountain man history sparked his involvement in the mountain man rendezvous reenactment circuit.  George also thoroughly enjoyed hunting with his boys and fishing with his grandchildren.  A little known interest, was his love for aviation which lead to owning and flying his own airplane for a period of time.  George loved cooking.  His most requested meal was his famous chicken noodle soup.  He was an avid reader, a master of crossword puzzles, and a great conversationalist.  People entered his life a stranger and left a friend.   He was also known for bestowing affectionate nick names to his wife, children, and grandchildren that are used to this day. However, spending time reminiscing with his wife, children and grandchildren brought him the greatest joy of all.

He is survived by his wife Kathleen; children; George H. V “Butch” (Angela) Hoelz of Castle Rock, CO; Veronica (Clint) Harkins of Le Center, MN; Thomas Hoelz of New Prague, MN and Mary (Phillip) Graue of Northfield, MN.   His 10 grandchildren Dustin, George H. VI “Collin”, Elise, Brady, Patrick, Emily, Kaylee, Noah, Austin, Brady.  His 5 great-grandchildren Hailey, Jacob, Sawyer, Maverick, and George H. VII “Davis”.  Siblings; Alice (Les) Schroeder of Shakopee, MN and Steven (Terry) Hoelz of Waconia, MN.

He is preceded in death by his parents and infant son, Thomas Gordon.