Lawrence R. Zehnle, 91, of Long Prairie, passed away on October 3, 2009, in Long Prairie.  Mass of Christian Burial was held Tuesday, October 6, 2009, 1 p.m., at St. Mary of Mt. Carmel Catholic Church in Long Prairie with Fr. Richard Walz officiating.  Burial was at St. Mary of Mt. Carmel Catholic Cemetery in Long Prairie.

Lawrence was born on February 24, 1918 in Reynolds Township, Todd County to John and Anna (Bous) Zehnle and was raised on the farm homesteaded by his father.  In 1935 at age 17, he went West with his brother Joseph and joined Herman working at the construction of Parker Dam in Nevada, and later Shasta Dam in California.  In January 1942, Lawrence was inducted in the US Army and served until October 1945.  His three and a half years in the service included duty in the area of the Coral Sea, on Iwo Jima, and other locations in the South Pacific.  After WWII he became a charter member of the Operating Engineers Union and helped with the construction of the San Francisco Airport.  In 1953, he went to Liberia, West Africa to work for Republic Steel, mining iron ore.  Lawrence stayed for 18 years, returning to the San Francisco Bay area in 1972 where he met and married Margaret Yang in 1984.  They lived in Fremont, California until her death.  In 2007, Lawrence moved back to Long Prairie.

Lawrence is survived by siblings:  Josephine Terwey of Long Prairie, Arnold Zehnle of Redding, California, Elizabeth Pritchett of Viroqua, Wisconsin, and many nieces, nephews and cousins.

Lawrence is preceded in death by his wife Margaret, parents, and brothers:  Joseph and Herman and sister Gertrude Ross.