Anton Vetsch

Anton "Tony" Peter Vetsch was born March 30, 1927 in rural Pierce County, North Dakota to Frank and Mary (Held) Vetsch.


His mother died when he was very young and was raised by Barney and Mary Held. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy where he served as Seaman First Class in the U.S. Navy in WWII from 1944-1946. He was stationed at Subic Bay, Philippines and was transferred to the mine layer, the USS Fred T. Berry.


Tony married Isabel Heilman on November 13, 1950. Tony worked with a crew that built grain elevators and Isabel traveled with him. They settled in Selz, ND and raised their two children. Tony operated the county grader for Pierce County before moving to Towner, ND where he was lead man for the Highway Department until he retired.


He was a member of the Catholic Order of Foresters and the VFW. He loved fishing, hunting, wood working and baseball - he was The Minnesota Twins biggest fan and never missed a game. Tony passed away on Thursday, June 02, 2011 at the Whispering Pines Good Samaritan Center in Pine River.


He is survived by his children, Ray and his wife, Kim of Pine River, Minnesota and Pam Vetsch of Purcell, Oklahoma.



Tony was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, 3 brothers and 2 sisters.



Funeral services will be at 10 am Saturday, June 4, 2011 at the Kline Funeral Home in Pine River, MN with visitation one hour prior. Military graveside service will be held at 2 p.m. Monday, June 6 at St. Anthony's Cemetery, Selz, ND.