Cover photo for Bennie Walter Gilbertson's Obituary

Bennie Walter Gilbertson

Name: Memorial Visitation
Start: 11/16/2017 05:00 PM
End: 11/16/2017 07:00 PM
Location: Mankato Mortuary

June 3, 1937 — November 11, 2017

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Memorial Visitation

Northview - North Mankato Mortuary

Thursday, November 16, 2017

5:00 - 7:00 pm (Central time)

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Bennie Walter Gilbertson

Bennie Walter Gilbertson, 80 of Mankato, passed away Saturday, November 11, 2017 surrounded by family at his home.

Bennie’s wish was to be cremated and to have the opportunity to share stories among family and friends. A celebration of his life will be held from 5-7pm, Thursday, November 16, 2017 at Northview ~ North Mankato Mortuary. Please share a memory of Bennie with his family online at www.mankatomortuary.com.

Bennie was born June 3, 1937 in Nicollet to Bennie and Louise (Freitag) Gilbertson. He graduated from Nicollet High School and served in the Army National Guard. On August 6, 1958, he was united in marriage to Ellen Witt, and they were later divorced. Bennie proudly served as a fireman with the Mankato Department of Public Safety from February 1, 1966 until retiring as Assistant Fire Marshal on May 13, 1994. He especially enjoyed teaching children about fire safety. Music was another one of Bennie’s passions. As a child, he began playing in bands with his dad. Later, he played trumpet for several different bands and traveled to New York, Texas, New Orleans, and Austria. Bennie loved spending time outdoors, deer hunting, mushroom hunting, fishing, and trapping.

He is survived by his son, Jeff (Teri Shary) Gilbertson of Rapidan; daughter, Sherri (Bob) Iddings of Mankato; grandchildren, Kari (Steve) Hoppe, Nickolas Thompson, Jeremy Gilbertson, Sara (Josh) Groebner, and Lindsey Gilbertson; and many great-grandchildren,

Bennie was preceded in death by his parents.

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