Obituary of Lloyd W. Redfield

Lloyd W. Redfield  (The Chief, The Legend)  age 91 of Cambridge, MN born October 22, 1927 to Peder and Inga of Madison, MN passed away  Friday March 1, 2019.

He is survived by one sister Barbara Kerr and eight children;

Guy (Renee) Redfield of Chetek, WI, Scott “Whitey” (Sue) Redfield of Cambridge, MN, Dana (Jessica) Redfield of Maplewood, MN, Shelly (David) Thorp of Harrison, MA, Wade Redfield of Minnesota Lake, MN, Kevin (Mata) Redfield of St. Paul, MN, Brent (Tanya) Redfield of Minnesota Lake, MN and Jay (Leah) Redfield of Cambridge, MN.

25 Grandchildren and 14 Great-Grandchildren

Lloyd structured his life around some core values that helped him live a long life.  Have the love of Jesus in your heart, love one another, forgive, be kind, be generous and be humble.  Lloyd was a very caring and giving person who will be missed by all who knew and loved him

Funeral Service will be held Wednesday March 6 at Noon at New Hope Church 33030 Vickers St. NE Cambridge. MN

Visitation will be 1 hour prior to service at the church.

Interment Ft. Snelling National Cemetery with honors on Thursday March 7, 2019

The family requests donations to the funeral home by clicking Donate Now below. All donations are deposited to our funeral home and used per family wishes. Those who donate can write an expression of sympathy for the family which can be found by clicking on the Condolences tab above or one can remain anonymous. If you are unable to donate, we ask that you please copy and paste the tribute link below on all social media, text and email.

Early Life

Singer Lloyd William Redfield was born Floyd William Redfield on October 22, 1927, in Madison, Minnesota. The son of poor Norwegian Lutheran farmers, but rich in love.  Lloyd is the baby of twelve children, born to Peder and Inga Redfield.  Lloyd lived on a farm outside of Madison where at times they struggled during the great depression and with a dad who had Polio.  To cope with the struggles the Redfield children shared a straw bed and used an outhouse stocked with Sears catalog paper.  Some of their favorite foods to sustain the rigors of the farm were lefse and cream of bread. It wasn't an easy life, and music was one of the ways the Redfield family found escape from some of the hardship.

“The Old Rugged Cross” became a special hymn to Lloyd at the age of 6, as it was sung by his sister, Elsa May in her final minutes, as she lay in bed with her family bedside.  Life was hard at times on the farm but the Redfield clan was tight knit and shared a deep kinship of love.  Lloyd was influenced by his older brothers and followed in their footsteps including playing sports, smoking & drinking at a young age, and raising hell.  In fact, Lloyd had been known to enjoy a libation or 2 maybe even 3.  Lloyd attended a small school during his elementary years and walked uphill to school and uphill back home.  On one occasion on a subzero winter day Lloyd was walking home from school and decided to take a rest in the middle of the field by a hay stack.  If not for his dog Jingles Lloyds life and legacy may have been cut short.  On that day Lloyd’s dad Peder recalled that Jingles was like a dog possessed and persistent to be let outside.  Peder let the dog out and Jingles ran out to touch his cold nose to Lloyd’s cheek awaking him from what could have been an eternal sleep.  Lloyd spent the rest of his teenage years working alongside his siblings to make ends meet and attending Madison High School.  Lloyd, known as Chief in High School excelled in track, baseball and shenanigans with his classmates.

Shortly after graduating High School Lloyd met the love of his life Gloria.  As Lloyd explained it “lighting struck” when he saw that beautiful girl in that angora sweater. Their courtship accelerated fast and Lloyd asked Walter, Gloria’s dad, for her hand in marriage. They got married on September 16, 1950 and 2 weeks later Lloyd shipped off to Army Basic Training in preparation for the Korean War that began on the June 25th, 1950 when North Korea invaded South Korea.  Lloyd did find time to make it home a month later to consummate the marriage and hope for a little guy to ensure he had an heir to his legacy. Lloyd continued his training for his deployment overseas as Gloria was pregnant and they prepared for a long-distance love affair. 

Military Service and Marriage

On September 16, 1951 one year to the day he got married, Lloyd sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge to deploy overseas on a carrier ship to Korea. On his way over on the ship some of his shipmates jumped overboard and were left stranded at sea to die as they did not want to confront the toils of war. His time in Korea shaped Lloyd in numerous ways including his enduring love for his young bride Gloria. During these difficult days being exposed to the ugliness and senselessness of war Lloyd wrote and received letters from “Topsy” reaffirming their deep love for one another.  Lloyd knew one thing for certain and that was that he wanted to make it home to see his wife and newborn baby.  This feeling never left him to focus on what was most dear to him in life, his wife and family. 

Lloyd completed his tour of duty and one year to the day on his 2nd year Wedding Anniversary September 16, 1952 Lloyd returned home sailing under the very same Golden Gate Bridge he sailed under the previous year.  After his honorable discharge from the Army Lloyd and Gloria continued to expand their family that started with Guy, then Scott, Dana, Shelly, Wade, Kevin, Brent and Jay. Lloyd tried his hand in a variety of careers spanning from soldier, farmer, railroad specialist, cooking potato chips and construction worker, all the time staying true to what he loved most, his wife and children. Lloyd and Gloria moved around from Madison, Appleton, Brooklyn Center, Forest Lake, Dawson, Cambridge and Tucson. Though Lloyd never struck it rich anywhere he left his stamp behind wherever he lived touching the lives of others with his actions, not words. Faith, too, had a strong impact on Lloyd’s life.  Gloria was a devout Christian who lived a life of faith, kept her children safe through prayer and instilled in Lloyd a heart of generosity that remains intact today.

Accomplishments

Lloyd achieved his greatest accomplishment by marrying the love of his life and raising 8 children and being a Grandpa to 39 Grandchildren.  Lloyd has structured his life around some core values that have helped him live a long fruitful life; have the love of Jesus in your heart, love one another, forgive, be kind, be generous, and be humble. He has instilled those values into the rest of his family and should be proud of this accomplishment as stated in Proverbs 22:6 “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.”

Final Years and Legacy

Once Gloria passed, Lloyd struggled with his place in life. Still, as a dad he continued to push himself and find meaning in his family. Lloyd’s physical health became more of an issue in 2008 when he had triple bypass which actually slowed him down for a few days. He remained active in golf, cheering on the Vikings, Twins and Gophers. He loved visiting with his kids and Grandchildren.  He recently moved back to Cambridge and as he was sitting with his son Wade watching the Twins game he made the comment “Wouldn’t it be nice to be in Florida right now Wadeo?” A minute later Lloyd took his last breath and departed.  Lloyd is a legend and created a legacy that will be carried on for generations.  Lloyd touched many lives and he will be missed by all who knew him.