Willie Langholz

Willie Langholz, Telling His Story\r\n\r\nAs Willie spent his last few days on the earth, he was surrounded by family and friends that loved him dearly. During this time, we asked Willie to talk about his life. This is part of his story. We're sure all of you have your own Willie story to tell.\r\n\r\nBorn in Waverly, Iowa to Rudy and Edna Langholz, he was known to some as Bill and others as Willie. Since both of his grandfathers were named William, his father chose to call him Willie, and that name stuck. He was a brother to 6 sisters. But being the only boy, some of the fondest childhood memories Willie shared, were those he made with\r\nhis Dad.\r\n\r\nWillie's love for flying started as a child - making his own airplane with his Dad at age seven. Rudy fostered Willie's dreams to fly by cutting out a frame, a prop, and seats. Willie tied a rope on the end, pulled it to the top of the chicken coop and experienced his first flight (crash) to the ground. Willie wanted to go into the Air Force to be a\r\njet pilot, but a football injury prevented that.\r\n\r\nIn 1973, Willie moved to Rochester, Minnesota to attend college. He also farmed during the day and worked as an orderly at St. Mary's Hospital during the evening. Willie would frequently tease the nursing students and Mary Jo who was a student nurse in 1978, was no exception. But it wasn't until 3 years later in December, 1981 when Mary Jo went to Dayton's to look at the Christmas decorations and spotted Willie working in the commercial carpet sales department. Mary Jo invited him out for a cup of coffee to reconnect. From that point on, their romance ignited\r\nand in the summer of 1982 they were married in Barcelona, Spain. They had one beautiful adventure after another and were blessed with their son John in 1990.\r\n\r\nThat same year Willie joined Pipestone Veterinary Clinic to help develop the swine division. By 2011, Willie was traveling internationally and helping PIPESTONE