William "Bill" Messerschmidt

1946 - 2025

William "Bill" Messerschmidt, 78-year-old resident of Randall, passed away on Sunday, September 7, 2025 at the St. Cloud Hospital as the result of a pickup truck and bicycle accident.

Funeral service held on Saturday, September 13th at 12:00 noon at Faith Lutheran Church in Little Falls with Pastor Mark Johnson officiating. Visitation held on Saturday, September 13th from 9:00 A.M. until the hour of the service at Faith Lutheran Church in Little Falls.

William "Bill" Messerschmidt was born on September 22, 1946 to the late Erwin and Clara (Lewin) Messerschmidt in Chicago, IL. Bill was baptized at Our Savior Lutheran Church on September 29, 1946 and was confirmed April 10, 1960 at the same church. He grew up in the greater Chicago area where he graduated from Luther North high school. In the 1960's, he received a bachelor's degree in Animal Husbandry from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL. In the late 1970's, Bill attended MSU in Bozeman, MT where he received a bachelor's degree in Fish and Wildlife Biology. Then Bill returned to SIU and graduated in 1990 with a bachelor's degree in Organ Performance. In 1994, he received a Master's Degree in Worship and Music from Luther Seminary and St. Olaf College. He was a 4-H advisor in Lake and Cook counties in Illinois. After MSU, he became a park ranger with the National Park Service and worked at the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area in Fort Smith, MT and at Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site in Stanton, ND.

He was united in marriage to Millie Bellin on August 25, 1979 at Trinity Lutheran Church-Freistadt in Mequon, WI. Two weeks ago, they celebrated their 46th wedding anniversary in Glacier National Park, MT. Throughout their married life, the couple resided in the following communities: Bozeman MT, Fort Smith, MT, Stanton, ND, Carbondale, IL, St. Paul, MN, Mosinee, WI and Randall, MN. Bill served churches as organist, choir director, or music director in every place he lived. Bill had a love of music from teaching piano lessons to that of being an organist and choir director. When he was young, he enjoyed summers spent on a family farm in Wisconsin. Bill was passionate about hiking, being in nature, firefighting during the summers, feeding the birds, staying physically fit, music, fishing, gardening, reading, drawing animals in nature with charcoal pencils, playing Rummikub with Millie and enjoying a dish of ice cream with his granddaughters, Madison and Mackenzie whom he adored. He was an active member of 4-H, American Guild of Organists, Wausau Lyric Choir, Promise Keepers, and Bible Study Fellowship. Bill and Millie enjoyed traveling to National Parks and to Europe, where Bill had the opportunity to play the organ at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.

Bill was a caring, faith-filled Renaissance man who loved his family.

Left to cherish his memory are his wife, Millie Messerschmidt of Randall; daughter, Kristin (Stuart) Sommers of Little Falls; granddaughters, Madison and Mackenzie Sommers; siblings, Betty Robison of Grafton, WI, Dolores (John) Watson of Naples, FL, Marlene Aumuller of Arlington Heights, IL and Ruth (Terry) Groh of Fredonia, WI; brother and sisters-in-law, Jerry (Kathy) Bellin of Wausau, WI, Marilyn (Gene) Goldsby of Chanhassen, MN, Sharon Bellin of Racine, WI and many nieces, nephews and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Erwin and Clara Messerschmidt; sister, Carol Neumann; brothers-in-law, Frank Robison, Richard Aumuller, Will Bellin.

The void Bill's absence leaves in the lives of his family and other friends is filled by the comfort of his strong faith in Jesus and the knowledge that we will see him once again in Heaven.

Emblom Brenny Funeral Service is Cherishing the Memory and Celebrating the Life of Bill.