John Prairie

John H. Prairie, age 69, of Willmar, died Thursday morning, July 27, at Rice Memorial Hospital in Willmar.

A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, August 2, at Peterson Brothers Funeral Home in Willmar. Interment with military honors will be at Fairview Cemetery. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at Peterson Brothers Funeral Home.

John Hawley Prairie was born on March 28, 1948, in Marshall, Minnesota, the son of Harry and Ruby (Green) Prairie. He grew up near Tyler and graduated from Tyler High School in 1966. In September of 1966, John enlisted in the U.S. Army and served in Vietnam. Following his service in 1972, John moved to Willmar and was employed at the Willmar Municipal Utilities for over 20 years. On August 8, 1998, John was united in marriage to Bonnie Jean Larson and they made their home in Willmar. John was employed at several landscaping businesses throughout the Willmar and New London-Spicer areas such as: Mike's Dock & Yard, Stacy's Nursery, Green Lake Nursery and Frank's Nursery, retiring in 2010. His hobbies included gardening vegetables and flowers, antiquing, fishing, dancing, bonfires with his family and friends and just being active outdoors.

He is survived by his wife, Bonnie of Willmar; six children, Heather (and Joe) Higgins of Coon Rapids, Seth Prairie of Willmar, Laura Gaarsland of Fargo, Hannah Prairie of Willmar, Kyle (and Sarah) Baklund of Sauk Rapids and Dena Matrious of Sauk Rapids; ten grandchildren, Joey, Devin, Madison, Kaden, Payton, Christian, Samairah, Carter, Faith and Jameson. Also surviving is one brother, Mike Prairie of Willmar and a sister-in-law, Lynette Prairie of Marshall, besides other relatives and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents; one son, Cass Prairie in 1996; one brother, Bruce Prairie and a son-in-law, Joe Gaarsland.

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