Joseph Massop

Joseph “Joe” Massop, age 89, of Mapleton, died Friday, December 1, 2023 at The Pillars of Mankato.

Memorial Mass will be held at 11am, Thursday, December 7, 2023 at St. Teresa’s Catholic Church in Mapleton with visitation starting at 9am. Burial will follow at Calvary Cemetery in Mapleton. Please share a memory of Joe with his family, view his video tribute, and watch his service livestreamed at www.mankatomortuary.com.

The family prefers memorials be directed to Mapleton Museum (Maple River Heritage Inc., P.O. Box 474, Mapleton, MN 56065), Franciscan Missions (P.O. Box 130, Waterford, WI 53185), St. Joseph's Indian School (www.stjo.org or by mail at 1301 North Main Street, Chamberlain, SD 57325), or St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (www.stjude.com/donate or by mail at 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105).

Joe was born August 8, 1934 in Storm Lake, IA to Theodore “Ted” and Hendricka (Beenen) Massop. He was baptized and confirmed at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Storm Lake. He went to school for 5 years in country school, then one year in public school, and on to St. Mary’s in Storm Lake. He graduated in 1951 from St. Columbkille’s School in Varina, IA. After graduation, he moved to Mapleton, MN.

Joe worked at many jobs when he was young. On January 9, 1956, he married Shirley Karstedt. They had four children, Joseph “Joe”, Steve, Coleen, and Susan. He lived the rest of his life in Mapleton, MN.

Joe grew up as a farmer. That was his first love. He helped his Dad on his farm when he came to Mapleton. Then he rented land to farm. In 1959, he got a job as an electrician and went to school to get his masters license. He became a master electrician in 1964. He went into business for himself that year. In 1970, the business became Massop Electric Inc. Then, he took on the Behlen franchise. He sold bins, buildings, etc. From there, the business kept growing to what it is today. In 1999, Joe retired and sold the business to the three older children.

In his retirement, he went back to farming. Joe’s loves were farming, curling, playing cards, reading, watching sports on TV, and traveling. He and Shirley traveled all over the world, including all 50 states in the USA, and every continent except Antarctica.

Joe was preceded in death by his loving wife of 65 years, Shirley; parents, Theodore and Hendricka (Beenen) Massop; brothers, Henry, John, and James; sisters-in-law, Irene, Mary Kay, and Rita; brother-in-law, Therman Gamble; and son-in-law, Kipp Goodrich.

He is survived by four children, Joseph (Gina) Massop, Steven (Cindy) Massop, Coleen (Jeff) Lindemann; and Susan (Wayne) Peterson; 11 grandchildren; 24 great-grandchildren; 4 great-great-grandchildren; brother-in-law, David (Pam) Karstedt; and many cousins, nieces, and nephews.

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The live stream link below is a complimentary service provided by Northview ~ North Mankato Mortuary.

Unforeseen technical, internet, facility, and/or acoustical circumstances may produce a diminished end product. Please note, if the live stream does not appear, we are attempting to record and publish the service for later viewing.

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