George Antrim Jr

George Antrim, 88, of Breckenridge , MN , died September 28, 2009 at rural Battle Lake , MN .

A Celebration of Life will be held Thursday, October 1, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. at Joseph Vertin & Sons Funeral Home Chapel, Breckenridge , MN .

Interment will be at St. Mary’s Cemetery, Breckenridge.



George Edwin Antrim Jr. was born August 28, 1921 in Breckenridge, the son of George E. and Elizabeth (Kelly) Antrim. He grew up in Breckenridge and attended St. Mary’s School and Breckenridge High School , graduating in 1939. At 140 pounds, George quarterbacked the BHS football team, and played on the 1939 basketball team that went to state. George claimed the 1939 team could have beaten the 1940 Cowboys, but that team won the state championship. George continued his education at the North Dakota State School of Science in the liberal arts program, where he also continued playing basketball.

On June 15, 1942, George married his high school sweetheart, Frances Boll (known to all as Fran or Faf), at St. Joseph ’s Catholic Church in Moorhead . They lived in the Mary Ann Apartments in Breckenridge, to which George returned to live after Fran passed in 2006. Four months after the wedding, George entered the U. S. Army, serving with the Engineer Corp building airfields across Western Europe . George reached the rank of Master Sergeant, resisting the Army’s many requests to make him an officer. He was discharged from the Army in 1945, returned to Breckenridge, and began working as an engineer for the Great Northern Railroad, later the Burlington Northern, where he enjoyed a sterling reputation until his retirement in 1982.

From 1983 until 2006, George and Fran enjoyed their retirement together, splitting their time between their cabin on Otter Tail Lake and their snowbird home in Mission , Texas . They would leave each October and return to Minnesota each May. After George returned to Breckenridge full time in 2006, he still enjoyed Otter Tail Lake almost every weekend, staying with his oldest daughter Peg and her family, where he passed peacefully on September 28.

George loved golf. He was self-taught, traveling to Fergus Falls to play before Breckenridge had a golf course. He later helped build the Bois de Sioux golf course, acting as a civil engineer when the “Breckenridge side” was built. He served as President of the Bois de Sioux Country Club in the 1960’s, during some hard financial times, and had Fran put on shrimp dinners there every Friday night.



George considered his family to be of the utmost importance. He was a devoted husband for 64 years. He was dedicated to his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, teaching them all the very lessons of life through games and recreation. George was a man who enjoyed the “play”. He thought of life as a delightful game to be played. He enjoyed golfing, hunting and playing cards, drawing portraits of his pals in the European theater overseas, as well as having the occasional Old Crow; through his middle years of playing in bridge tourneys with Faf, bowling, hunting, perfecting his golf game, and the occasional Old Crow; until his later years golfing, crosswords, reading, watching the Twins, watching the news, reading whatever he got his hands on, and sharing his opinions on world events…and the occasional Old Crow.

George was a member of the American Legion Club, Breckenridge/Wahpeton WWII Last Man’s Club, Railroad Retirees, and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen Retiree Club. He traveled to Canada for the Boll family reunion in August for his 88 ^th birthday. He most enjoyed watching his family grow and watching all Minnesota sports. He last played golf with family at Balmoral Golf Course on Otter Tail Lake in July. We will miss him.

George is survived by: His daughters: Peg (Marlyn) Kruschke, Battle Lake MN; Michele (Tom Rieschick) Antrim, Fergus Falls, MN; His son: George Antrim III, Minneapolis, MN; His daughter-in-law: Jan Antrim, Brooklyn Park, MN; His seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by: His parents: George and Elizabeth Antrim; His wife: Frances Antrim; His son: Patrick Antrim; His four sisters.