Benedict Zoucha

Benedict Zoucha, 83, of rural Tintah, Minnesota, died Wednesday, March 16, 2005 at St. Francis Medical Center, Breckenridge, MN.  His funeral will be held Monday, March 21, at 2:00 P.M., St. Gall's Catholic Church, Tintah.

Fr. Andrew Marthaler will be officiating.  

     Visitation will be Sunday, March 20, 2005, from 4:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M. with a Prayer Service at 7:30 P.M. at Joseph Vertin & Sons Funeral Home, Breckenridge, MN.  There will also be visitation one hour prior to the funeral at the church in Tintah on Monday afternoon.  Interment will be at St. Anthony's Cemetery, Fairmount, ND, with military honors by the Wilkin County Honor Guard.

     Ben is survived by: His wife: Genevieve Zoucha, rural Tintah; His children: Steven (Clair) Zoucha, Wahpeton, ND; Cynthia Larson, Fargo, ND; Anita (Gerald) Wiese, Battle Lake, MN; Anthony Zoucha, Tintah, MN; His grandchildren: James, Juli, Jonathan and Joshua Larson; and Michelle and Jason Wiese; His step-grandchildren: Gary, Donovan and Lyle Levery; Jennifer Beltz and Amanda Lock; His step-great grandchildren: Shelby Pearson, Hunter and Jonathon Beltz and Breanna Levery. His brother: Adolph Zoucha, Genoa, NE  

   He was preceded by:     His parents: John A. and Josephine Zoucha; His brothers: Ray and Edward; His sisters: Anna Slizoski, Leona Slizoski, and Vera Zoucha

     Benedict Frank Zoucha was born October 24, 1921 in Tarnov, Nebraska, the son of John A. and Josephine (Torczon) Zoucha.  As a child he moved with his family to Lindsay, NE and attended school.  He then worked on the family farm and for farmers in the area; and some years traveled out of the area looking for work.  On July 21, 1942, Ben was inducted into the U. S. Army at Fort Logan, Colorado.  He did basic training at Ft. Eustis, VA.    On September 27, 1942, Ben left the States for more basic training at Belfast, Ireland.  He then left for Liverpool, England on Christmas Day, 1942.  Ben arrived at Oran, Africa with the 209th Anti-Aircraft Battalion, where he served with that unit about a year under British command.  He then served with the 337th Combat Engineer Battalion still under British command in Africa.    From there Ben was transferred to Italy, landing in Naples.  He served under General Mark Clark in the 5th Army until the war was over in May, 1945.  His unit was declared essential and attached to the Blue Devil 88th Division.  He guarded prisoners from May to September, 1945.  It took 28 days to arrive in the States from Leghorn, Italy on a small liberty ship.  He was then discharged and arrived back home in Nebraska on October 21, 1945.  Ben received 5 battle stars while serving in the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign.

      On September 17, 1946, Ben was united in marriage to Genevieve Schillinger at St. Gall's Catholic Church in Tintah, MN.  They made their home at Monroe, Nebraska, where they lived for 10 years and farmed with Ben's brothers.   In 1956, they moved to the Campbell, MN, area and continued farming.  He retired in 1979, but continued helping his son on the farm.  

     Ben was a member of St. Gall's Catholic Church, a Lifetime Member of the VFW, and member of VFW Post 2766.  His greatest enjoyment was Polish music; and playing the accordion and violin for family and friends. He also enjoyed fishing the Minnesota lakes in winter and in summer and always looked forward to his trips to Nebraska to catch up on news with family and friends.  He will be remembered for his love of visiting with anyone he met, wherever he went.



Pallbearers: Bill Hoffman, Mike Barth, Cliff Barth, Glen Barth, Kurt Schillinger and Ron Slizoski