A Mass of Christian Burial for Sam Henkels, age 62, of Heron Lake, will be held at 10:30 AM on Friday, September 27th at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Heron Lake with Father Antony Arokiyam officiating. Burial will be at Sacred Heart Cemetery in Heron Lake.

A time of visitation and gathering will be held on Thursday, September 26th from 4:00 to 700 p.m. at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Heron Lake. Visitation will continue on Friday for one hour prior to the service at the church.

Samuel "Sam" Jerome Henkels was born on January 7, 1962, in Lakefield, Minnesota, to Charles and Laurene (Heger) Henkels. He grew up and attended elementary school in Heron Lake, Minnesota. His high school years were spent in Heron Lake, until his senior year, when Heron Lake combined with Okabena.

After graduating high school, Sam farmed for a few years with his dad and brother, Dave. He moved to Colorado to become a cowboy, which lasted for about one year, before he moved back home to Heron Lake. He worked at Swift (JBS), AgChem (AgCo) and then settled at Toro and worked there for 31 years, where he worked the last 15 years as a forklift operator.

Sam met Lori Olson in 1990, and they married on June 2, 1995, in Windom at St. Francis Xavier Church. They had two beautiful children, Katelyn (Katy) and Wyatt.

In high school, Sam played basketball, and without being asked, he would tell you what a great basketball player he was. But in the next breath, he would tell you that he single-handedly lost the District 7 Championship game by shooting a dismal 6 of 24. His theme song was "Glory Days", by Bruce Springsteen. Speaking of songs, Sam had a special talent for making up lyrics to songs. You will have to ask Lori what his lyrics were to "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" because they are highly inappropriate.

Sam was an avid hunter and fisherman, so much so, that he gave himself the nickname, "Legend"! He was a major Vikings fan and every year he would say, "This is our year!", until they lost their first game. Sam, I think this is our year! He enjoyed making up his own "dad jokes", for example, "What do you call a dog that goes over the dam?" Doggone. Sam was a grateful member of the Heron Lake AA group for 34 years.

On Thursday, September 19th, Sam passed away at Sanford Medical Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakoka.

Sam is survived by his wife, Lori and daughter, Katy (Tyler) Henkels of Albert Lea; brothers, Charlie (Sue) Henkels of Prior Lake, and Dave (Bonnie) Henkels of Heron Lake; sisters, Sherry Cooper of Kingman, AZ, Jan Wernstrum of Arvada, CO, Midge (Wayne) Engelen of Burnsville, Ginger (Mike) O'Loughlin of Alachua, FL, Veronica (Bill) Smart of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, Carmen (Wayne) Rasche of Heron Lake; sister-in-law, Mary Pat Henkels of Colorado Springs, CO; and numerous nieces and nephews, relatives, and friends.

Sam was preceded in death by his son, Wyatt; parents, Charles and Laurene; brother, Allen Henkels; sister, Rita Henkels; sister-in-law, Cheri Henkels; and brother-in-law, Robert Butler.

Blessed be his memory.

Remember: When it gets so hot that when a cat chases a mouse, they both walk. -- Sam