Richard "Butch" Herzberg

Richard “Butch” Herzberg

Richard “Butch” Herzberg, 78, of Henning, passed away on Thursday, November 30, 2023, at Lake Region Healthcare in Fergus Falls, surrounded by his family.

An outdoorsman to the end, Butch’s final hunt came this past deer hunting season, with him scoring an eight-point buck on the land in his own neighborhood woods. Butch’s passion for hunting, ice fishing and trapping could be heard in his detailed…and we must add, plentiful stories about his many adventures and quests out in the woods. A volunteer for 10+ years, you could find him participating in the West Otter Tail County Fair at the DNR booth, eager to share his knowledge and expertise of the outdoors. In 2016, he was honored with the recognition of being named Volunteer of the Year by the Minnesota Trapping Association.

Butch fought a valiant fight to the very end with the hope of capturing as much time as possible in his cancer diagnosis. He remained ever hopeful and optimistic in his cancer journey. He intended to beat it from the word go. Diagnosed in late 2020, his health took an unexpected turn the week of Thanksgiving, as he developed complications from his lung cancer and his breathing became an even more labored task for him. Butch shared many sad and tearful goodbyes his last day with countless friends and extended family, surrounded in his last hours by his immediate family at his side.

Richard Gordon Herzberg was born May 23, 1945 to Wilbert and Norma (Ott) Herzberg in Fergus Falls, MN, the youngest of two children. Hospitalized at the tender age of three with a bout of pneumonia, Richard captured his nickname we have forever known him by since, when a nurse caring for him started referring to him as “Butch”. The Herzberg’s became residents of Henning, MN in Girard Township when he was 10 years old. Butch attended parochial school through 8th grade at St. John’s Lutheran Church of Ottertail, graduating from Henning High School in 1964. Butch joined the Army in 1966 and was honorably discharged from the Army Reserve in 1972.

On June 1, 1968 Butch was wed to his sweetheart Susan Johnson of Wadena, MN. They made their home in Henning, MN, eventually settling on five acres from his family homestead. They were blessed with two children, Bradley and Shelly. Butch retired in 2007 after 34 years of employment at Mark Sand & Gravel. Other favorite hobbies of Butches were his passion for snowmobiling, vegetable gardening, cutting wood, and the occasional hunting trips way up North and out west, and was known to skip school on occasion back in the day for duck hunting excursions on Gourd Lake.

Butch is survived by his wife of 55 years, Susan; son Bradley (Stephanie) and his daughter’s Olivia and Estella; daughter Shelly (Jeff) Paul and her son Justin (Sasha), great-grandsons, Cody and Wyatt, her daughter, Isabella, and her stepdaughter, Danielle; Sister, Kathryn Luginbill; numerous nieces and nephews; family and friends; including special friends Larry, Ron, Rick, and Randy.

Butch was preceded in death by his parents, Wilbert and Norma; mother and father in-law, James and Eunice Johnson; Brother in-law Carl Luginbill; and Sister in-law Denise Holmgren.

Visitation: Friday, December 15, 2023, from 5-7 P.M., with a 6:30 Prayer Service at the Glende-Nilson Funeral Home, Fergus Falls,  and continuing one hour prior to the service.

Funeral Service: 1:00 P.M., Saturday, December 16, 2023, at the Glende-Nilson Funeral Home in Fergus Falls.

Interment: Girard Cemetery, Henning, MN, at a later date.

Funeral arrangements are with the Glende-Nilson Funeral Home of Fergus Falls for Richard “Butch” Herzberg.