Vernon “Mike” Reger, 82, was born November 4, 1937, in Battle Lake, MN, and was raised in Staples, MN. He passed away peacefully on January 13, 2020. Mass of Christian Burial will be held on January 23, 2020, 11:00 a.m., at Christ the King Catholic Church in Browerville with Fr. Mitchell Bechtold officiating, Friends may call Wednesday, January 22, 2020, 4:00 – 7:00 p.m., at Iten Funeral Home, Browerville and on the day of the funeral one hour prior to the service at Christ the King Catholic Church. Parish Prayers will be at 4:00 p.m. Burial will be held at Evergreen Hill Cemetery, Staples.
He attended a country school through the 8th grade. He met Janice Trana and they were married November 8, 1956, at Little Moran. They made their home for a very brief time in the Twin Cities but returned to the Staples area where they raised their family. They took great pride in raising their family of 5 children: Mark, Dennis (Chip), Michael, Christy and Dan.
Mike was skilled in many trades and held several jobs over the years to care for his family. He started out at Sapp’s Dairy farm delivering milk and later at Sadusky’s Iron Working. He served as a volunteer fireman in Staples for several years. He finally settled on a career as a master mechanic working for Northern Pipeline and later retiring in the same line of work from the Aconite Corporation in 1997 - but the work didn’t stop there.
Everyone knew if they needed help or needed something fixed Mike was the “go-to guy”. He often found himself helping on a variety of projects including, construction, plumbing, auto repair, etc. There was no task he wasn’t willing to tackle. He took great pride in remodeling houses; and ultimately building their retirement home located on Horseshoe Lake near Browerville, MN.
Mike liked to play as hard as he worked. He enjoyed hosting gatherings with family and friends. He was a master at roasting a variety of meats including pigs and turkeys for large groups of people. He also found a passion for camping and 4-wheeling creating an extended family at the Riverview RV Park near Pine River, MN.
Mike is survived and will be greatly missed by his children: Chip (Sally) Reger, Michael (Kim) Reger, Christy (Tony) Tobas, and Dan (Tammie) Reger; and, grandchildren Marcy and Samantha, Arik, Shawn and Josh; Melanie and Mikey; Christian; and, several great grandchildren.
He is now at peace and at home with his parents, Frank and Elizabeth Reger; his loving wife, Jan; his son, Mark; brothers Kenny and Delmer; and, sisters Irene and Donna.
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