Henry "Hank" Greenwaldt

The memorial service celebrating the life of Henry “Hank” Greenwaldt will be held at 11:00 am. on Friday, April 5, at the New Life Church of God in Bertha, with Pastor Nate Loer presiding. Visitation will be held at the church on Friday, from 9:30 a.m. until the time of the service. Burial will be in Peace Evangelical Cemetery in Bertha, MN. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You may view the service by going to Schuller Family Funeral Homes & Cremation Services' FACEBOOK page or YouTube page. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Henry “Hank” Greenwaldt, 89, passed away peacefully at the Central Todd County Care Center in Clarissa, MN, on February 9, 2024. Hank was born on a farm west of Bertha on January 29, 1935 the son of Arthur & Marie (Wachlin) Greenwaldt. He grew up there with his eight siblings; Ivan, Elvin ”Al”, Verlin “Ed”, Norman, Delbert, Raymond, Mavis & Janice. Hank attended country school through the eighth grade. When he was 16, he left home & moved to the iron range to drive truck in the mines with Bob Rausch. On March 10, 1956, Hank married Gladys Robben and moved to Minneapolis. Their son Brad was born in Minneapolis in 1958. In 1959 Hank & Glady purchased a farm NE of Bertha. Their daughter Brenda was born in 1961 in Wadena. In 1965, they moved to Alaska for the summer then returned to Minneapolis. Hank drove a construction truck building highways, 35W being one of them. From there he worked for Production Engineering as a machinist foreman until Spring of 1973 when they moved back to the same farm near Bertha. In 1974, with his brother Al, they built a new house on the farm. Sometime in 1981 his passion for horseshoes took off. He was in many tournaments with his brother Norm. In September of 1999, Hank retired from farming, sold the farm and bought a house in Bertha. On a part time basis, he was the caretaker for Horizon Manor in Bertha. He also became heavily involved with the local horseshoe club. In December of 2001, his wife of 45 years, Gladys, passed away. In January of 2003, Hank married Josephine (Miller) Rydberg. Starting in 2004, Hank and Jo wintered in Tucson, AZ. Lots of sightseeing and of course lots of horseshoe was played getting ready for the summer season back home in MN. The winter of 2014-2015 was their last AZ winter. In 2019, Hank was elected to the Minnesota Horseshoe Hall of Fame, something he was very proud of. He was in many State and a few World tournaments and collected many trophies in various other tourneys. In August of 2022, Hank had a stroke that would result in him living out his remaining days in the Clarissa Care Center with Jo by his side. Hank is survived by his wife Jo; son, Brad (Peggy) Greenwaldt, Chisago City MN, and their children: Ashley (Brandon) Bergren, Courtney (Brandon) Czech, and Tyler (Allie) Greenwaldt; daughter, Brenda (Brad) Kneisl, Henning MN, and their children, Brian (Bobbi) Kneisl, Amanda (Jake) Nygaard, and Lindsey Templin; 12 great grandchildren; 5 brothers and 2 sisters: Al (Lois), Ed, Norman, Delbert (Diane), Raymond, Mavis and Janice; and many nieces and nephews. Hank was preceded in death by his first wife Gladys; his parents; brother Ivan; and grandson Aaron Kneisl. ~~~ The following was written by Janet Larson, Hank's friend through horseshoe events. ~~~ Our connection to Henry and horseshoes goes back a generation, to Al’s dad, Don, and Henry enjoying many games on the courts. When I was working my way up through the lower classes, pitching tournaments in the morning sessions, it was easy to tell when certain members of the upper classes arrived. Henry and his brother Norm's entrance was always announced by the eruption of their laughter. Henry was not only a very competitive pitcher, he was a firm believer in having fun while doing so. Henry made pitching ringers look so effortless. Growing up on the farm, Henry started pitching shoes around the age of nine, but didn’t become involved with league pitching until the early 1980’s. He was a big part in the construction of the current Bertha Horseshoe League building and was the primary maintenance man for their courts for many years. Henry started competing in tournaments a few years after starting in the league. His deadeye horseshoes began each tournament with a fresh coat of his signature bronze paint. His many tournaments included three World Tournaments in Cedar Rapids IA, Knoxville TN, and Topeka KS. He participated in Team World in Beloit WI several times, including being on MN Team One in 2015. That year Henry and his teammates Sig Armitage, Mark Smith and Ray Volkers finished in the top six. Henry earned a MN Top Ten Pitcher of the Year award in 2014 and again in 2017. He also qualified for the Elders Championship round at State eight times. This is always a tough class to compete in and for Henry it also meant pitching against Sig Armitage most of those years. Henry either entered at, or finished with 60% or better five of those years and had his best finish in 2014 when he was runner up to Sig. Henry also pitched many years as a snowbird in Arizona and Texas. 2019 was the last year that Henry pitched in the MN State Tournament, and it was also the year he was inducted into the MN State Horseshoe Hall of Fame. I was honored to make that presentation. Between Covid and health issues Henry was mostly kept away from the courts after that. His last three tournaments were three of his favorites, Josh Olson Classic 2020, Alex Open 2021 and Donnelly 2021. He was still a force to be reckoned with at each of these tournaments, with high games of 68.75%, 60% and 54%. We, along with many others, have so many fond memories of pitching with Henry. We will miss you Henry, your laughter, your stories and the way you made putting those bronze shoes on the stake look so effortless.

Henry "Hank" Greenwaldt

January 29, 1935 - February 9, 2024