Floyd Holzschuh

Floyd was born to Henry and Martina Holzschuh. He had five brothers and two sisters, and lived most of his childhood in the north midway/Como area of St. Paul. His father worked as a carpenter. The family struggled greatly during the depression years, and that had a lifelong impact on Floyd as he never wanted to waste anything. Like many of his generation, Floyd dropped out of high school and joined the war effort. At age 17, he enlisted in the navy and was trained to pilot a landing craft, also known as a Higgens Boat. His job was to get the Marines and Seabees and supplies ashore, and to bring the wounded back out. He participated in the invasions of Saipan, Iwo Jima, and Wake Island. They were preparing for the invasion of the Japanese mainland when the atomic bombs were dropped and the war came to an end. He was then sent into Japan where he was dispatched out to find and repatriate American and Allied POW's. Floyd was discharged from active duty in 1947. Recalled during the Korean conflict, he served on a destroyer and stayed on the US east coast and in Cuba. Floyd married Carol Ann Edman on Aug 21 1948. They lived for many years in Little Canada, where they raised their children, Bruce, David, Ellen, and Brian. He was active in his children's lives, serving as a little league coach and as the Scoutmaster for several years of Troop 462. Floyd supported his family by working over twenty years as a meat cutter at Swift and Co. in S.St. Paul. Then in 1969, Swift closed that operation and he was offered a transfer to a plant in Albany, Oregon. Faced with that option, Floyd and Carol instead chose to purchase and operate Shraeder's Cafe on the corner of Broadway and Lake in downtown Forest Lake. Renamed Carol and Floyd's Family Restaurant, they operated that business for several years. Later they operated the old Wagner's Cafe for a few more years. After the restaurant years, Floyd began a near 30 year career driving school buses for Forest Lake Schools. He had a real gift for working with the kids on his bus and was very popular. Perhaps it was the candy he handed out or just his friendly way. He was often assigned the most "challenging" routes as he had a way of keeping the kids in line. At Christmas, Floyd would come home with bags of gifts, usually cookies and candy, given to him by his students and their parents in appreciation for his kindness for taking great care of their children. After retiring a couple of times, he finally hung up his bus keys at age 80 as the eye test kind of forced the issue. In 2001, Floyd and Carol purchased a home and moved to North Branch after their five unit apartment building and home were purchased to make way for the new Cub Foods development out on the west Broadway side of Forest Lake. Family was always very important to Floyd. He was always active in his children's activities and later with his grandchildren's. In 1977, Floyd and Carol purchased an RV camping site at Pathfinder Village east of Hinckley MN. Many weekends over the years were spent going to the pool, sitting around the campfire, playing kickball, or tossing the horseshoes up at Pathfinder. Floyd loved to plant trees and lilac bushes, and today there are many large trees that stand in his memory. His later years, Floyd loved to garden and spent much of his time tending to his tomatoes or raspberry bushes. He also loved his little dog Bonnie. Floyd will always be remembered for his quick wit, warm smile and personality, and for his joking around. He would, on occasion, make a comment about the skills of women drivers or of "Swedes" in general. One time in the restaurant a young waitress proclaimed, "Floyd I lost 5 pounds". He said "no you didn't lose it you just misplaced it---look behind you". In reality, not very many people were immune to his gentle ribbing, but everyone knew it was all in fun and never mean spirited. He had that twinkle in his eye that let people know he was just kidding them. On Monday April 3 he suffered a stroke and a heart attack at home. Transported first to the hospital in Cambridge, and then to Grace Point Nursing Home, where he passed away on Friday April 7, just two days before his 91st birthday. He is survived by his wife of sixty eight years, Carol, children, Bruce (Patty), David, Ellen, and Brian. Five grandchildren, nine great grandchildren, brother, Richard (Carol), and many nieces and nephews. Preceded in death by parents Henry and Martina Holzschuh, siblings Neal (Anna) Harlan, Earl (Mary) Harlan, Ruth (Fred) Milota, Ralph (Betty) Holzschuh, Mabel (James) Williams, Douglas (Anita) Holzschuh. Celebration of his Life will be held at 6:45 p.m., Monday, April 17, 2017 at Mattson Funeral Home, 343 North Shore Drive, Forest Lake. Family will greet friends from 5:00 p.m. until the time of service. Private interment at Fort Snelling National Cemetery.

Funeral Home: Mattson Funeral Home 343 North Shore Drive Forest Lake, MN US 55025

---

Previous Events

cemetery
Saturday, April 8, 2017
Visitation
Monday, April 17, 2017
Service
Monday, April 17, 2017

---