CHARLES PRIEBE

Charles William Priebe, of Mora, passed away on Saturday, June 22, 2024 at M Health Fairview U of M Hospital in Minneapolis.  He was 74 years old.

Charlie was born on March 16, 1950 at Kanabec Hospital in Mora, Minnesota.  He was the second child of Adolph and Helen (Engelke) Priebe, and was welcomed home by his proud older sister, Judy, who was three years older.

During his younger years, due to living so far out of town, both Charlie and Judy attended a one-room Country School close to their home with a few other students.  When Charlie was in third grade, he started to attend Mora Elementary and continued in the Mora School district through High School.

His parents were farmers, as such, Charlie grew up working alongside his dad in the fields and taking care of the livestock.  He attended Mora High School and was an exceptional athlete, playing defensive center on the football team, as well as running track.  During his senior year of high school he was awarded the Most Valuable Player Award on the Mora Mustangs Football team due to his exceptional blocks and hard hits.  He was also a member of the Mora FFA chapter for all four years of high school.

He graduated from Mora High School in 1968.  After graduation, he attended St. Cloud State in 1969.  In 1970, Charlie was drafted into the Army during the Vietnam War.  After basic training, he was sent to Amphibian Engineer Mechanic Training.  He eventually was stationed in the China Bay as a Marine Engineer on an armory ship.  

He was honorably discharged in 1971, where he returned home to Brook Park to continue helping his dad run the farm - putting up hay, threshing oats, and corn silage.  During this time, he started work for Arcon Construction.  His work constructing sewers brought him closer to the cities and he eventually moved in with his sister, Judy, and her husband, Bob.  During this time, his nephew, Alan, was born.  Charlie became the devoted uncle immediately and formed a tight bond with Alan, always toting him along and teaching him to hunt and fish.

In 1977 Charlie was hired as a rural mail carrier for the United States Postal Service in Mora.  This work brought him back to the family farm in Brook Park, where he continued laboring long hours in the fields as well as working his rural mail route.  Charlie had the same mail route for most of his postal service career until he retired in 2005.  Many people will still bring up fond memories of him as their mailman.

In 1983, Charlie started in Alcoholics Anonymous and was sober for 40 years.  He was very proud of his time in AA and would always support anyone who wanted to get sober.  He met many close friends through meetings and said several times that AA saved his life.

Charlie has always had a love for music and dancing, and he was a frequent sight at the Fish Lake Resort on Friday nights during their live bands.  It was on such a night, during the summer of 1986 in Luck, Wisconsin, that Charlie met Robin (Updagraff) for the first time and asked her to dance.  Four years later, in April of 1990, the couple was married in Mora, residing on the family farm in Brook Park.  They welcomed their son, Riley, in 1991.

Although they divorced in 2001, Charlie always remained close friends with Robin Priebe and Fred Sawatzky.  They regularly spent time together and always celebrated holidays together - especially the most important one, Deer Hunting Opener.  Come November, the farm duties quickly quieted down in order to give way to time in the deer stand.  The Opening Night dinner at Charlie’s house was never one to be missed.

As an avid outdoorsman, Charlie was always happiest when he was looking through his bow or rifle sights at a monster buck (many of whom quickly met their end in front of Charlie’s deer stand), or reeling in a fish putting up a hard fight.  

His passion for being outside took him on many trips over many years to Canada with friends and family to go fishing.  With his independent nature, he wasn’t afraid to rough it or to just eat what he caught when he was up there, as long as he was on a fishing trip in Canada, he was happy - no matter the (lack of) accommodations.  

In his free time, when he wasn’t on the hunt for some finned or antlered creature, Charlie was riding motorcycle.  He took many long motorcycle trips and was a regular at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.  He taught Riley to ride and took him on several cross-country motorcycle trips, going to Yellowstone and even to the Canadian Rocky Mountains.

In 2015, Charlie and Riley started farming the family farm together.  The day-to-day work eventually turned into Charlie watching his grandkids, Johnny and Josie, while Riley and Nikki took on more of the labor side of the farm.  Johnny and Josie always loved getting to spend time with ‘Pa Charlie, because they knew they would get to watch TV while eating peanut butter bread and ice cream and drinking diet coke.  During the last few years of his life, Charlie was able to spend quite a bit of time with his grandkids, which he always expressed he was happy to be able to do.

Charles was preceded in death by his parents and brother-in-law, Robert Kuchenbaker.

He is survived by his son Riley (Nicole) Priebe; grandchildren Johnathan and Josephine; sister Judy Kuchenbaker; nephew Alan (Maggie) Kuchenbaker; niece Anita Gerking (Kirk); and great nephews and niece - Dru Kuchenbaker, Preston & Grace Gerking;  Riley’s mother Robin Priebe (Fred Sawatzky); other relatives and friends.

A Graveside Service and Interment will be held at 11:00 am on Wednesday, July 3, 2024 at Oakwood Cemetery in Mora. 

Military Honors will be provided by the Mora American Legion Post 201. 

In Lieu of Flowers, Memorials are preferred to the family.

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