Willard Maahs

Willard E. Maahs, age 89 of Litchfield, passed away on November 29, 2021, at Meeker Memorial Hospital in Litchfield. A memorial visitation will be held Tuesday, December 7, 2021, from 4:00 to 7:00 PM at Johnson-Hagglund Funeral and Cremation Service in Litchfield. Willard Emmanuel Maahs was born on December 24th, 1931, in Cedar Mills Township at the family home to Albert and Ella (Saar) Maahs. He was welcomed by sisters Bernette, Ruth and brother Erdman. He was baptized and confirmed at Beckville Lutheran Church in Beckville, MN. He received six years of formal education and began farming at the age of 12 years. Working and staying busy was his life. In 1961 he met the love of his life at the local PCA office, and they were married on February 23rd, 1963. The story goes that Diane knew well ahead of time that he was going to ask her to marry him as he’d come in to borrow the money to buy the ring and due to a miscommunication, she processed the loan! To this union three children came Jason, Fred, and Kathy. There was almost nothing he could not fix, build or jerry rig to get through the day. For years he chopped silage and combined corn for relatives and friends. He truly enjoyed working with everyone to get the crop done. He loved the harvest season. He farrowed sows, sold feeder pigs in the earlier years as well as milked cows. He was known for his ability to work through the worst sickness or pain and went years without missing a milking. He just did what needed to be done. With his ability to fix most anything he was often sought after for his knowledge with the JD 24T and 336 balers as well as any JD combine made prior to 1980. Willard was not necessarily a man of the church, but his faith was evidenced with every spring planting and every new animal born. In his later years he loved going to Swans for coffee and rarely missed a knowledge sharing session there. He will be remembered for his laugh, his smile, his can-do attitude, his ability to observe and do as well as his devotion to family and friends. Willard is survived by his children: Jason, Fred and Kathy; grandchildren: Joshua, Nicholas, Stacee (Cody Brainard), Zachary, Madeline (Alex Almich), Cole, Alexandra; and great-grandchildren: Braxton, Greyson and Brooks. He was preceded in death by his wife Diane; siblings: Bernette Leske, Erdman Maahs, Ruth Bergman and in laws: Ira Leske, Lloyd Bergman, Bernice Maahs, Bud and Ruth Marquardt, Art and Alice Reilen, Jeanette Byrne, Walt Kuehl and Bonnie Revering.