Anton "Mike" Tesarek

A Memorial Service for Anton "Mike" Tesarek of Roseau, MN will be held on Friday, March 31, 2017 at 1:00PM a Pine Grove Lutheran Church in Roseau. Visitation will be held on Thursday, March 30, 2017 from 5-7PM at Helgeson Funeral Home in Roseau, MN with a prayer service at 7PM. Interment will be held at Beaver Cemetery in Roseau, MN.

Anton Tesarek was born on February 16, 1942 and passed peacefully away in his sleep in the care of hospice in his home on March 24th 2017 after a long battle with cancer. 

  Anton was born to parents Frank Sr. and Mary(Killian) Tesarek in Roseau.  He grew up on a small farm in rural Beaver township, and attended grade school in Beaver school (where if you believe him he walked 2 miles up hill both ways in 3 feet of snow to and from school) and Malung school and then he attended Roseau High School until the 11th grade.   After 11th grade he began working. The first few years out of school he had held a few different jobs, ranging from helping his dad on the farm, as well as hauling seed potatoes from Williams, MN to Grand Forks, ND, to working on the farms out in North Dakota with the potato and beet harvests, logging, and working at a service station in Chicago Illinois.  In 1964 He married the love of his life Gloria Otto.   They made their home in Highland Park, a suburb of Chicago while he worked for Carol Hendrickson delivering water.  After the Civil rights riots started in the late 60’s Anton and Gloria decided that Chicago was no place to raise a family so they moved back to Minnesota.  They bought a farm on the Pencer corner and at first he worked at Marvin Windows and later on farmed full time.  He milked cows, raised grain and hay, and a family of 4 boys.  In 1996 they sold the dairy herd and he started working for a company that installed underground fiber optic cable as a utilities locater and truck driver.  In 2000 he started working for the DNR as a smoke chaser and truck driver for the firefighting division seasonally full time until he retired in 2015. 

  Anton enjoyed farming, hunting and ice fishing, time out in the woods, visiting friends and family, irritating his wife for fun, listening to the radio, watching his game shows, auction sales, helping out friends and family, and going to the area casinos from time to time.  Later on, as his illness progressed, he got great joy from picking on the nurses and aides that helped him and keeping them laughing.  When he had nothing left to give but a reason to smile, that’s what he’d give.  His greatest joy was from spending time with his children, grand-children, and great grandson, and especially his wife and best friend in life, Gloria.

  Anton was a quietly religious man his entire life, and he enjoyed listening to the gospel greats as well as the sermons on Sunday mornings on the radio.  Recently he was baptized into the Lutheran faith. 

  Anton is preceded in death by his parents Frank and Mary Tesarek, his mother and father in-law Martin and Alice(Strieff) Otto, His sister in-law Adelle(Wiskow) Tesarek, his brother and sister in-law Bobby and Emma(Bernard) Otto, His brother in-law Philip Otto, his sister in-law Donna Otto, his nephews Roger Wagner and Lyle Otto, and his life-long friends Kenneth and Luverne(Bennie) Mortenson. 

  Anton is survived by his loving wife Gloria.  His sons:  Michael and Rona(Klamar) Tesarek and their children Tim(Brittany) Tesarek, and Ashley Tesarek and her son Christian.   Joseph Tesarek and his friend Tracy Halstensgard, and his daughter Tiara Tesarek.  Richard and Barb(Ryder) Tesarek and their children Stephanie and Justin Tesarek.  Marcus Tesarek and his friend Kimberly Erickson and her sons Zachary and Owen Jaenicke. 

  He is survived by his brother Fredrick Killian and wife Maria of New York, NY, his sister Mary and husband Floyd Otto of Holt, MN, his brother Frank Jr. and his wife Sylvia(Dybedahl) of Pencer, MN, his sister Blanche and her husband Jim Otto of Gilbert, MN, his brother Willie Tesarek of Pencer, MN.  He is also survived by his brother in-law Don and wife Betty(Otto) McConnell of Russel, MN, his brother in-law Eugene and wife Martha(Otto) Krzoska of Falun, MN, his sister in-law Valerie(Tilton)Otto of Warroad, his brother in-law Paul and Alice(Otto) Hahn of Warroad, MN, His brother in-law Martin Otto of Warroad, MN, and his brother in law Matt and wife Allyn(Otto) Brown of Warroad, MN along with many nieces and nephews, and many, many friends.

 Service Information