Longtime Minneota community leader John Howard Geiwitz remembered

Dana Yost
John Howard Geiwitz sometimes didn’t say a lot in public, but when he did speak — and when he was involved — things got done.

That's how he's being remembered this week in Minneota, a business leader and driving figure behind many of the community's key development projects a generation ago.

Geiwitz died Wednesday at Prairie Home Hospice at the age of 81 from complications of bone cancer.

Minneota banker Walt Strangman said Geiwitz operated quietly.

"That was John Howard," Strangman said. "He was not an outgoing, back-slapping guy. Just very dedicated. Went about his business in a quiet way and did what had to be done. ... Very cordial. Got things done."

He became the president of Geiwitz & Co., which was founded in 1898. A John Deere dealership was among the company's primary operations.

Among his many activities, he and his wife Freida were also big boosters of the city library, which is still housed in one of Geiwitz's former brick buildings on Main Street.

"John Howard was such a pusher for Minneota, the swimming pool, the golf course, everything," said Freida, his wife of nearly 60 years.

He served on the Minneota City Council, was a justice of the peace, and was city clerk/administrator for 11 years.

"He was particularly proud that during this period the streets were paved and the dike that protects Minneota was built," the family said in his obituary.

He served on the Planning and Building Committee for the town swimming pool, and was a leader during the construction of the Countryside Golf Club and served as its first president.

"He was on church council at different times," recalled former Hope Lutheran Church minister Rev. John Thorstensen. "He and his brother Bob, of course, were both very active. Just a very capable guy. He wasn't terribly talkative, but whatever he said was useful.

"He ran Geiwitz Implement for all those years, and it was a terribly important part of the town at that time. I think both he and his brother both were well-respected. If they said something, why they'd do it."

His obituary said he lived his entire life in Minneota, except for two years in which he served during World War II. When he came home, he resumed his position with the family business.

Geiwitz received the Meritorious Service Award from American Legion Post 199, and in 2002 he and his wife received the Rotary Community Service Award.

"It isn't necessarily for just one thing," said Strangman, who presented the award. "A lifetime of service or at least a number of years of service. Actually, the award was given to both of them, recognizing her years on the library board and his involvement there, too, plus other things."

Virgil Ufkin, another longtime business owner who served with Geiwitz on the city council, remembered Geiwitz as a force.

"John was also the city clerk for many years, and he sort of ran the city office with an iron hand," Ufkin said, adding that Geiwitz did so with positive intentions.

Ufkin owned the Gambles hardware store for many years, and for a time, competed with the Geiwitz brothers who also owned an Our Own Hardware store. Geiwitz also had extensive farmland.

"They were good competitors, good people," Ufkin said.

Dennis "Swede" Swedzinski worked for nine years for Geiwitz at the implement dealership, before buying it himself in 1977. He praised Geiwitz's community support.

"Oh by far — for the library and all kinds of things," Swedzinski said.

He also said Geiwitz was a strong businessman.

"Excellent," Swedzinski said. "He helped me become the businessman I am today. I've been in business today for 31 years, selling Bobcat equipment now."

Swedzinski bought one of two neighboring Geiwitz buildings on Main Street. The other became the Minneota Library, and Geiwitz kept an office there. He'd go visit Swedzinski from his office.

In retirement, "he did the things that he enjoyed doing," Swedzinski said. "He enjoyed the library, and he managed his farms for a while."

The Geiwitzes also had a lake cabin on Lake Cochrane in South Dakota.

Beulah Olson, the wife of the late Minneota High School principal Gerald Olson, remembered Geiwitz's involvement. Not only did he serve on the church council, he was Hope Lutheran's council president.

"Very active in Hope Lutheran Church, that's where I remember him the most," she said. "As I remember, (he served on) lots of committees that were civic. He was a good businessman."

Geiwitz was among the last of a generation of post-World War II leaders who shaped Minneota for many years. Many, like him, were business owners. Others, like Gerald Olson, were key figures at public institutions such as the school district.

Bill Ufkin of Ufkin's Furniture and Appliance in Minneota also recalled Geiwitz.

Ufkin's father, Virgil, is another one of the remaining leaders of that generation. Bill Ufkin said men like his father and Geiwitz had an impact.

"(Geiwitz) did a lot of stuff for the community over the years," Ufkin said. "Another one of those big (guys) who's gone. Aside from all the little things, there were a lot of big things those guys were active in."

Funeral services for Geiwitz are at 1 p.m. Tuesday at Hope Lutheran Church in Minneota.


dyost@marshallindependent.com