Ray Jost

Raymond Edward Jost, son of Frank and Willamina (Zaehringer) Jost, was born January 29, 1929, on the family farm near Morris , Minnesota . Ray was one of nine children, and lived on the same farm three miles west of Morris his entire 79 years. He attended country school just down the road from the Jost farm. During his school years, Ray enjoyed boxing and even achieved a Golden Glove rating. After graduating from high school, Ray began farming on the family farm. On July 12, 1950, he was united in marriage to Elizabeth L. Gobernatz in Morris. Ray and Betty raised eight children and farmed for many happy years.

Ray was a member of Assumption Catholic Church in Morris, where he had been active in the Knights of Columbus. When he wasn’t busy farming, Ray enjoyed spending his time with family and friends hunting, fishing and traveling. He especially loved deep-sea fishing. His favorite past time was watching sports, especially football.

Ray passed away on Monday morning, January 19, 2009, in Morris after a long and courageous battle with Parkinson’s Disease. Ray was a proud man; proud to be a farmer, proud to be a Catholic, a husband, father, brother, uncle, grandfather and friend. He will truly be missed by all who knew and loved him.

He is survived by his wife: Elizabeth L. Jost of Morris; eight children: Patricia (Dr. Richard) Golden of Greenwood, Daniel (Sue) Jost of Alexandria, James (Kris) Jost of Fargo, ND, Jerry (Jane) Jost of Morris, Judith Jost (Patrick Nolan) of Minnetonka, Julie (James) Ellingson of Woodbury, Linda (Richard) Martinson of Minnetonka and Lisa (David) Bowell of North Oaks; 16 grandchildren: Brooke (Ramon) Golden, Benjamin (Jennifer) Golden, Michael (Jaime) Jost, Nathan (Kristie) Jost, Rachael (Josh) Sinning, Gretchen (A.J.) Stafslien, Jordan Jost, Joelle Jost, Jeremy Jost, Jessica Nolan, Heather Ellingson, Adam Ellingson, Ryan Martinson, Vanessa Martinson, Nicole Neuman and Alexandra Hammerstrom; 7 great-grandchildren: Andreas Golden, Jordan Lorsung, Francessca Jost, Maxwell Jost, Avery Sinning, Talon Sinning and Harper Stafslien; three sisters: Kathryn (Clifford) Clausen, Margaret (Jerome) McCarney and Agnes Stensby and three brothers: Donald Jost, Paul (Jeanette) Jost and Arthur (Frieda) Jost. He was preceded in death by his parents, and two brothers; Lawrence Jost and Louis Jost and the infant son of Dan & Sue Jost.

Pallbearers for the service are: Ken Jost, Ron Kill, Joe Jost, Rob Jost, Rob Vassallo and David Gobernatz. Linda Hodgson will serve as pianist for the service, with Ken Hodgson serving as soloist & song leader. Pedersen Funeral Home in Morris is in charge of the arrangements.

In lieu of flowers, the family prefers memorials in Ray’s name.