Robert Trautwein

MOTT -- Robert Trautwein, 89, Mott, died Jan. 19, 2003, in the Mott nursing home with his wife at his side. Services will be held at 10:30 a.m. MST Saturday at Zoar Congregational Church, Mott, with the Rev. Corey Warner officiating. Burial will be in Sunnyslope Cemetery, Mott.

Visitation will be held from 1 to 7 p.m. MST Friday at Evanson-Jensen Funeral Home, Mott, and will continue one hour prior to the services at the church.

Special music will be provided by Pat Schwartz, pianist, and Nita Bertsch and Claudia Bentz, vocalists.

Serving as casketbearers are Ulrich, Siegfried and Steven Trautwein, Ervin Wolf, Lynn Dill, Larry Messer, Sam Schram, and Marvin and Arnold Kallis.

Robert Trautwein was born July 24, 1913, at Tarutino, Bessarabia, the Black Sea area of Russia, to Christian and Rosina (Krause) Trautwein. As a youth, he worked as a hired hand on others peoples farms. Following a mandatory period of military service in the Romanian Army, he worked for himself delivering and hauling goods for people in the surrounding area. He often mentioned with fondness, his "one-eyed horse (Gaul) and wagon (wagen)".

On July 21, 1940, Robert married Anna Ingber. In October of the same year, they, along with many others of German descent, were resettled in Poland by the German government. The world events of the time greatly affected his life. In February 1942, he was conscripted into the German Army. In 1945, at the end of the war, he was taken prisoner by the Russian Army and not released until the early summer of 1949.

Through the efforts of relatives in New Leipzig, N.D., Robert and his family, along with his mother, immigrated to the United States in June 1952. Shortly thereafter, the family moved to West Mott. In 1955, they purchased property two miles west of Mott on the Cannonball River.

Robert worked for the Milwaukee Railroad until his retirement in 1979.

Robert always expressed appreciation for the opportunity to raise his family in America. Robert and Anna felt fortunate to have a wide circle of friends, many of who shared a similar background, which provided hours of enjoyable visiting, singing, and reminiscing throughout the years.

He was a lifelong member of Zoar Congregational Church in Mott.

With the onset of Alzheimer's Disease in 1993, it was necessary for him to receive additional care, first at St. Benedict's Healthcare Center in Dickinson, and later at the Good Samaritan Nursing Center in Mott.

He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Anna, Mott; two sons and one daughter-in-law, Siegfried Trautwein, Tokyo, Japan, and Ulrich and Teryl Trautwein, Columbia Falls, Mont.; one daughter and son-in-law, Irmgard and John Russell, Montgomery, Texas; 10 grandchildren, Steve, Amy, Alex, Heidi, Anna Lisa, and Ashley B. Trautwein, Rosanna, Ty and John Russell, and Matt Russell and his wife, Kim; and two great-grandchildren, Jessica Trautwein and Haven Russell.

He was preceded in death by his parents; two brothers; and one grandson, Eric Trautwein.