Obituary of Earl Edward Terhaar

Earl Edward Terhaar, 86, of Cambridge, passed away on Sunday, March 24, 2019 at his home.

Earl was born in Agram Township, Minnesota to Philip and Agnes Terhaar on April 6, 1932.  He was an adventuresome youngster, exploring and creating ‘machines’ with his siblings.  They were the ‘real-life’ Little Rascals.

He attended grade school in Agram Township at the District 46 School.  He and his siblings and cousins would walk a mile and a half to school each day for eight years.  After grade school, Earl attended Little Falls High School and then joined the army during the Korean War.  He was lucky enough to be stationed in Stuttgart, Germany where he was able to hone his German language.  After his stint in the army, he returned to the Pierz area.  He worked in ‘the cities’ and spent weekends farming with his father in Pierz.

In 1966, he met the love of his life, Helen Cornelius.  They married on October 28, 1967 in North Mankato and eventually settled in the Princeton/Cambridge area, where they raised their family.  Earl continued working at the Pipkorn Mfg. Company in St. Paul until his retirement in 1994.  In retirement, he enjoyed working on his vintage John Deere tractors and ‘inventing’ tools that he wished existed.  He also enjoyed making his own beer.

The joy of Earl’s life was his family.  He wasn’t much for saying “I love you” or “I’m proud of you”, but he did and he was.   He was a generous brother, a loving husband and father, and a helpful neighbor and friend. 

Earl was preceded in death by his parents Philip and Agnes (Stumpf) Terhaar; son Donnie Terhaar; and sisters Cecelia Terhaar Kapsner, Margaret Terhaar LeBlanc and Adeline Terhaar Mentele.

He is survived by his loving wife Helen; children Ed (Kristina) Terhaar of Plymouth, Marie (Jerid) Miller of North Branch, Emilie (Bryant) Ficek of Roseville and daughter-in-law Rasa Terhaar of Woodbury; 10 grandchildren; and siblings Roland Terhaar of Brooklyn Park, Henry (Sandy) Terhaar of Foreston, JoAnn White of Nimrod and Kitti Solinger of Pierz.