Funeral services were held for Rowland Bauck, age 99 of New York Mills, on Monday, June 16, 2025, at 11 a.m. at the Trinity Lutheran Church in New York Mills with Pastor Kirk Douglas officiating. The hymns were sung by the congregation, accompanied by Janell Brakel. The pallbearers were Rowland’s children: David, Dyann, Dolly, Donna, Dayla, Duane, Darla, Darin and Dinee. Military Honors were provided by the Charles D. Center V.F.W. Post #3289 of New York Mills and the Minneapolis Navy Funeral Honors team.  Rowland was laid to rest in Greenwood Cemetery, New York Mills.

It is said that a legacy is not leaving something for people; it’s leaving something in people. During the early hours of Sunday, June 8, 2025, at 99.5 years of age, Rowland Bauck was called to Glory from his home in rural New York Mills. And although we knew him well, those of us who loved him are just beginning to understand the breadth of the legacy he left within each of us.

Rowland Matthew Bauck was born on November 21, 1925, in the home of his parents, Theodor and Lena (Oelrich) Bauck, in Otto Township, rural New York Mills. Rowland went on to live a full and rewarding life. He was baptized on December 9, 1925, and confirmed on May 5, 1940, at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Perham. He was a man of deep faith and was an active member of Trinity Lutheran Church, rarely missing a service; he served on Church Council and was a Dartball League member.

Rowland attended Sunnyside Country School District #184, in Otto Township, through the sixth grade. Seventh and eighth grades were spent at St. Paul’s Lutheran School in Perham (where, weather permitting, he rode his bicycle to school, calculating his leave time based on existing wind conditions). Rowland graduated from New York Mills High School with the class of 1944.

A talented athlete and the king of one-liners, Rowland likely honed these skills as a young boy, while the Bauck brothers created mischief and got into endless skirmishes with the neighborhood rivals, the Perala boys. Rowland enjoyed playing football and basketball for the New York Mills Eagles. One to give credit where it was due, he expressed gratitude to the high school superintendent for telling him that, no matter what he did, Rowland was going to fail. Across the years, Rowland carried that prediction like it was a badge of honor, claiming to have had a lot of fun failing! Rowland was a lifelong supporter of local sports, and traveled far and wide to watch his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren compete.

Rowland served his country in the US Navy in the Pacific during WWII, beginning June 21,1944. He served on the USS Wiley, a Fletcher class destroyer, and was honorably discharged on June 8, 1946.

On September 5, 1948, Rowland married Lillian Siirila at Grace Lutheran Church in Sebeka. To hear him tell it, marrying Lillian was better than winning the lottery. Side by side, they worked to create a warm and inviting home on a busy farm in Otto Township, just west of New York Mills. They milked cows, raised sheep and chickens, reared 10 children, and fed an endless stream of coffee and food to card playing guests, as well as the milk and feed truck drivers, repairmen, salesmen, veterinarians, and occasional random passersby. Over the years, the couple took countless young people into their home and under their wings, including friends of their own children and grandchildren, children of friends, exchange students, and more. The city of Mills honored Lillian and Rowland by making them the first grand marshals of its annual parade.

Rowland was an avid supporter of FFA, and was inducted into the Minnesota FFA Hall of Fame in 2011. He was also passionate about 4H and the East Otter Tail County fair, and he made the journey to the State Fair annually; his final trip to the Great Minnesota Get-Together was in 2022, at age 96, when the Bauck family was recognized as an FFA Legacy Show Family. Rowland was a Life Member of the Charles D. Center V.F.W. Post #3289, a Friend of 4-H, and NFO member.

As a child of the Great Depression, Rowland learned how to live a frugal but remarkably rich life. Blue light specials made his heart sing! His goal in pinching a penny here, or saving a dollar there, was to have a little more to share with the people he cared about. Rowland’s love for his family was as dependable and unchanging as the stories he told and retold and told once again; stories spun from nearly a century of life experience. Rowland was a good listener, offered solid advice (often without being asked), and believed in second chances.

Born of the land and deeply satisfied with his vocation, Rowland declared that he had never really worked a day in his life. While farming was important to him, he struck a balance between work commitments and social engagements. He maintained close relationships with friends and relatives, always finding time to swing by for a quick cup of coffee and conversation. He enjoyed evening drives to look for deer, long after his failing vision made seeing them impossible. Not one to sit back and get old, Rowland made the nighttime rounds on the farm well into his 90s, checking gates, latches, feeders and waterers, and monitoring ewes and lambs.

Over the course of his 99 years, Rowland had 99 loves: 1 wife + 10 children +30 grandchildren + 58 great-grandchildren = 99 loves. Preceding him in death were his parents, Theodor and Lena Bauck; infant daughter, Delane Dawn in 1955; wife, Lillian in 2002; siblings: Vernon (Laurine), Kenneth, and Marvin (Inez).

Those left to mourn his passing and celebrate the legacy he left within each of us include: David (Ruth) Bauck and family: Mike (Teri) Bauck, Zachary (Alli), Brady, Isabella; Camri (David) Jacobson, Evan, Taylor; Stacy Arellano, Ethan, Kate. Dyann (Dennis) Tigges and family: Shanna (Rob) Hendrickson, Ashton, Ella; Tim (Emily) Tigges, Dyllan, Griffin, Boone. Dolly (Owen) Tumberg and family: Sharnel (Jake) Bitker, Lillian, Elzetta, Sharlet, Adeliza; Alicia (Rusty) Kawlewski, Wolfgang, Eden; Sam (Marisa) Zutter, Jaeger, Vaeda, Ryker; Janae (Anthony) DeClusin. Donna (Terry) Geiser and family: Matthew (Natasha) Geiser, Gabriel, Moriah, Elijah; Derek (Jenny) Geiser, Mikayla, Kaitlyn, Austin; Kenny (Darci) Geiser. Kale, Ruby, Elizabeth, Kooper, Coya, Britta; Cody (Katie) Geiser, Maximus, Briggs, Lola; Dustin (Kendra) Geiser, Isaac, Shauna, Ezekiel, Isla, Oscar, Micah, Livia. Dayla Ristvedt and family: John (Sarah) Ristvedt, Maverick, Warren; Paul (Katie) Ristvedt, Carter, Jack, Hadley; Mark (Jessica) Ristvedt. Duane Bauck and family: Tiffany (Chad) Ruther, Madison, Brock, Ellyana, Journey; Kendra Panning; Isaiah Bauck, Adaline; Leah (Alex) Nelson, Charlotte; Sierra Maunumaki; Courtney Bauck; Seth Bauck. Darla (Eddy) Guehna and family: Sarah (Brady) Winter, Reed, Connor, Miles; Michael Guehna; Jacob (Heidi) Guehna, Macy. Darin Bauck. Dinee (Gordy) Dykhoff and family: Rowland, Dixie, Hazel; sister-in-law, Arlene Siirila; a host of extended family and many friends.

Please visit www.karvonenfuneralhome.com to leave memorials and condolences on Rowland’s Tribute Wall.

Arrangements provided by Karvonen Funeral & Cremation Service of New York Mills.