Richard Wachter, 90, went home to be with the Lord on May 11, 2012 at Golden Living-Whitewater, St. Charles, succumbing to the effects of a stroke which he suffered on Easter Sunday. The funeral service will be Thursday, May 17 at 11 a.m. at New Life Church, Wanamingo, with Pastor Pat McBride officiating. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service. Burial will be in Lakeside Cemetery, Hastings. Michaelson Funeral Home in charge of arrangements. Richard was born December 18, 1921, Rosemount, MN, to Max and Clara (Volkert) Wachter. Due to his mother becoming ill after delivery and eventual death when Richard was eighteen months of age, his Uncle Otto and Aunt Marie (Volkert) Schaar raised him like one of their own children. He gained two more siblings at that time, Luella and Carl. He attended District #24 country school, then Hastings High School. Richard was proud to be an American farmer. The story is told that the family''s pastor stopped to tell his 'Pa' that his horse team was seen dragging the field with no one leading them. Who the pastor didn''t notice was Richard, at the age of 4, sitting in the seat, leading the team! He loved the horses but as tractors came on the farming scene, Richard became a loyal John Deere man. On June 10, 1944 he was united in marriage to Alva Lillie Maria Ranelius. Richard and Alva lived and farmed in Ninenger Township, rural Hastings until 1964, then purchased a farm near Kenyon. Swine, corn, sweet corn, and soybean production were their main enterprises. For several years Alva and Richard built a successful Moews Seeds distributorship. Upon Alva''s death in 2006, Richard moved to Lanseboro and lived with his daughter Judy''s family. He enjoyed the activity of the dairy farm, was proud to see his John Deere 4440 used for daily feed mixing and helped to tend the gardens and yard. He lived with Judy and Brian until April 5 of this year when after being hospitalized with pneumonia, he entered the care of Golden Living Center. He enjoyed family fishing trips Up North. He and Alva made many trips to Yellowstone National Park to visit Carl, Dorla and family where Carl worked as park ranger during the summer months. They rarely missed a Fillmore County Fair or MN State Fair 4-H dairy show when Amy, Amber, and Adam were participating. Richard and Alva were avid gardeners. They enjoyed sharing the fruits and vegetables with friends, family and food shelves. In his younger years Richard was a Mason and Shriner. He was a member of New Life Church, Wanamingo. Grateful for having shared his life are son, Carl (Dorla) of Mankato, daughter, Judy (Brian) of Lanesboro; grandchildren, Sonja Younger, Elliot Wachter, Amy, Amber and Adam (fiance'' Abbey Norby); great grandchildren Sage Younger and Elson Wachter; Sister-in-Law Dorothy Schaar; Brother-in-Law Leon Carpenter and many nieces and nephews. Richard was preceded in death by his wife, Alva; parents; brothers Carl Schaar, Carl and Albert Wachter; sisters Luella (Schaar) Werth, Esther Wachter and Marie (Wachter) Heintz and Sister-in-Law Ruth (Ranelius) Carpenter Visitation: 05/17/2012 10:00 05/17/2012 11:00 Service: New Life Church- Wanamingo 05/17/2012 11:00