Clifford "Cliff" Henry Friedrichsen

Clifford H. “Cliff” Friedrichsen, age 95, of Holstein, passed away on Sunday, January 03, 2021 at the Good Samaritan Society of Holstein.  A private family funeral service will be held at the St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church of Holstein with the Pastor Bob Lewis officiating.   A live stream link will be provided at 1:30 P.M. at  https://youtu.be/Vu_rgABin5w. Burial will be at the Holstein Cemetery of Holstein with military rites conducted by the American Legion Dessel-Schmidt Post #225 of Holstein.  A visitation will be held on Wednesday, January 06, 2021 from 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM at the Nicklas D. Jensen Funeral Home of Holstein. Due to COVID-19, the family will not be present at the visitation, masks will be required, and social distancing will be practiced. In lieu of flowers, donations will be accepted by the family for contribution to the Holstein American Legion or St. Paul Lutheran Church.  Burial will be at the Holstein Cemetery of Holstein.  

Cliff Friedrichsen was born August 1, 1925 on a farm west of Holstein to Henry and Marie (Indorf) Friedrichsen – the same farm where his mother Marie was born. He was baptized and confirmed into the Christian faith at St. Paul Lutheran Church.  He attended school in Holstein and graduated from Holstein High School in 1943. He enjoyed sports and was a State qualifier in the mile.

On October 30, 1943 he entered military service and in April 1944 he boarded the U.S.S. West Point and set sail for overseas duty. He served in the Pacific theater through the end of World War II and was lucky to meet up with his brother Bob on three separate occasions.  He was stationed on a ship entering Tokyo Bay on V-J Day for the historic signing of the peace treaty on the battleship Missouri.

On his first day back in Holstein in January 1946, he attended church, said hello to his future wife and they began dating. Cliff and Florence Clausen were married on September 22, 1946 at St. Paul Lutheran Church. They established their home on a farm north of Holstein.  To this union four children were born:  Connie, Cathy, Carole and Timothy, whom they raised with unconditional love and support.  They continued to farm until they moved into Holstein in 1990. His love of farming never diminished. For many years Cliff and Florence enjoyed dances at the Cobblestone Inn in Storm Lake or at the Lake View Ballroom and were members of various card clubs.  No meal was complete without a bowl of ice cream for dessert, usually with Hershey’s chocolate topping.  Homemade cookies were a favorite and he was known to grab a candy bar or two when stopping at the Phillips 66 station for gas.

In addition to farming, Cliff also served as Ida County supervisor for 16 years, and after moving into town was on the Holstein City Council.  He had been active in the American Legion for 75 years and especially enjoyed helping out at Bingo.  He was a faithful and active member of St. Paul Lutheran Church, where in earlier years he served as deacon.

Cliff is survived by Florence, his wife of 74 years; four children – daughters, Connie Ludvigson, Holstein, Cathy Conover and husband Keith of Iowa Falls, IA, Carole Fleck and husband Tom of Woodbury, MN, son, Tim Friedrichsen and wife Jenni of Seattle, WA; seven grandchildren – Landon (Christie) Ludvigson, Hudson (Courtney) Ludvigson, Andrea (Mike) Widen, Christopher (Jamie) Fleck, Benjamin Fleck, Max (Monica) Friedrichsen, Molly Friedrichsen; six great-grandchildren – Carver Ludvigson, Bronwyn Ludvigson, Ryder Ludvigson, Peyton Widen, Allison Widen, Brynn Widen; sister-in-law – Shirley (Dick) Friedrichsen; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Cliff was preceded in death by his parents – Henry and Marie Friedrichsen; in-laws – Emil and Frances Clausen; brothers and sisters – Bob (Lois) Friedrichsen, Pearl (Ervin) Henrichsen, Dorothy (Darwin) Thornhill, Richard Friedrichsen; brother in-law – Raymond “Bud” (Alice) Clausen; grandson – Matt Conover, great-granddaughter – Hope Ludvigson; niece — Joyce Friedrichsen and nephews – Mark Friedrichsen, Dale Clausen and Jim Clausen.

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