July 30, 1911 - Dec. 15, 2007
SEAFORTH -- Anthony "Tony" Pistulka, 96, of Seaforth died Saturday at the Redwood Area Hospital in Redwood Falls.
The service will be at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Seaforth. Burial will be in the church cemetery.
Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. today at the church, with a prayer service at 5 p.m., and for one hour prior to the service at the church on Tuesday. Arrangements are with the Redwood Valley Funeral Home in Redwood Falls.
He was born July 30, 1911, on the family farm in Sheridan Township to Anton Sr. and Mary (Kramer) Pistulka. He attended school in Seaforth and at St. Anne's Catholic School in Wabasso. In 1932, he started a dance band with his siblings called the Knights of Harmony. In 1936 he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps, where he helped develop the Gunflint Trail. In the Spring of 1937, he joined the Andy Kinney Dance Band in Minot, N.D., where he sang live on the radio and traveled with the band as far west as Montana.
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On Nov. 10, 1937, he married Margie Gales in Seaforth. They farmed near Seaforth and later moved to a larger farm near Vesta. In 1953, an accident took the lives of his wife and their two sons. He discontinued farming and purchased the Mobile Oil station in Seaforth in 1953. He worked there until his retirement in 1973.
On Nov. 7, 1959, he married Esther Gawarecki in Seaforth. Following his retirement, he operated Angie's Café in Seaforth and a hobby farm.
He was a lifetime member of St. Mary's Catholic Church where he was active in the Catholic Order of Forresters and sang in the church choir where they sang mass in Latin. He played with the Seaforth Concert Band, the Kramer Orchestra, and the Lucan Community Band.
He is survived by his wife; daughters: Monica (and Werner) Fischer of Wabasso, Christine Pistulka of Minneapolis and Teresa Pistulka of Cedarburg, Wis.; stepchildren: Susan Welch, Sharon (and Morris) Timm, Judy (and Jim) Steffl; and step daughter-in-law, Ann Warner; six grandchildren; 11 step-grandchildren; 27 great-grandchildren; and siblings: Gert Wurscher, Joe (and Maxine) Pistulka and Loretta Pistulka, all of Redwood Falls, and Dorothy Soupir of Marshall.
He was preceded in death by his first wife; his sons: Jan and Gary; one stepson, Mike Warner; and five siblings.
