Norman Willert, age 85, of Elkton, died Wednesday, June 4, 2008, at Avera-McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Funeral services will be 1:00 P.M. Saturday, June 7, 2008, at Trinity Ev. Lutheran Church in Elkton, with interment in the church cemetery. Visitations will be from 4-8 P.M. Friday at Eidsness-Zink Funeral Chapel in Elkton. In lieu of flowers, the family prefers memorials, which will be given to Normans Garden, the Elkton City Cemetery, or Hospice. Norman William Willert was born October 30, 1922, near Lake Benton, Minnesota, to Henry L. and Rosella E. (Dorn) Willert. He grew up on the family farm near Lake Benton. He attended country school a quarter of a mile from his home, attended three years of high school at Lake Benton before the family moved southwest of Verdi where he finished high school, graduating in 1940. Norman farmed with his father until 1948. On August 23, 1948, he married Lois Schaffer at Trinity Ev. Lutheran Church in Elkton. Norman began working for Schaffer Brothers Implement in 1948 and retired in 1985. After his retirement from the implement dealership, he drove a school bus for many years and was a representative of Rausch Bros. Monument Company. Norman was actively involved in the Elkton community through his service on the fire department, Community Club and City Council. He served as Mayor from 1971 until 1975. He landscaped an area in the northwest corner of town, creating an inviting front door to Elkton known as Normans Garden. He was a member of Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, where he served on the church council. He started the church choir in 1949, in which he, Lois, and their four children sang for many years. He enjoyed playing the trumpet and accordion. He gave special attention to the Elkton City Cemetery, which he managed for many years. Survivors include his wife, Lois E. Willert, of Elkton; four children: Henry Willert of Chicago, Illinois, Neil (Kathy) Willert of Glendale Heights, Illinois, Marcene (Phil) Staley of Joliet, Illinois, and Helen (Lenny) Wild of Newton, Kansas; seven grandchildren: Courtney (Matt) Dorion, Nathan Willert, Joshua (Kelly) Willert, Schuyler Staley, Peter Wild, Ben Wild, and Dana Wild; a sister, Mavis Rollefson, of Ward, South Dakota; and nieces and nephews. Norman Willert will be long remembered in the Elkton area as a mentor in living, as a warm and caring individual, a man whose presence mattered and whose absence will be keenly felt. Normans handshake was a hug to the hand and a tug to the heart, a simple gesture of his faithful love of family and friends.