Charles Ellis Liesemeyer, 85, Alexandria

March 2, 1931 - November 24, 2020

Charles Ellis Liesemeyer, 85 of Alexandria died Tuesday, November 24, at Knute Nelson Care Center in Alexandria.

Charles Ellis Liesemeyer was born March 2, 1931 in Syracuse, NE to Charles and Frieda (Witt) Liesemeyer. He was united in marriage to Janet Stubbendick on March 5, 1952, at First Lutheran Church, North Branch, NE. Janet passed away on October 9, 2001. He was united in marriage to Bette Deitz on November 8th, 2002 at Love of Christ Lutheran Church in St. Cloud. Bette passed away on February 10, 2006.

Ellis and Janet were blessed with 4 children and the family lived in Nebraska and Iowa before moving to Osakis and St. Cloud, MN. Ellis’s careers were many and diverse. Ultimately, he found his true calling as a chemical dependency counselor at St. Cloud Hospital for 20 years, having a positive impact on thousands of lives. He was a former member of Love of Christ Lutheran Church in St. Cloud and Unity Spiritual Center in Sartell. Ellis served in the Marine Corps during the Korean Conflict. He was a member and fierce advocate of Al-Anon and Alcoholics Anonymous.

Ellis died Tuesday, November 24, at Knute Nelson Care Center in Alexandria. Survivors include his children, Kathy (Greg) Hansen of Fargo, ND, Claire (Mark) Witt of St. Cloud, MN, Loren (Kathryn) of Alexandria, MN and Karen Akason of Jordan, MN. Grandchildren include: Doug, Julie, Larry, Karl, Courtney, Keri, Sean, Kyle, Jordan, Kelly and Jenna, and 12 great grandchildren, along with members of the Liesemeyer, Stubbendick and Deitz families. He was preceded in death by his parents, first wife, Janet, second wife, Bette, and brother, Jerome.

A private family service has been held at William Dingmann Family Funeral Home in Sauk Rapids, with Rev. Ken Ferber officiating, and burial was at Trinity Lutheran Cemetery in Sauk Rapids. A celebration of his extraordinary life will be in summer, 2021.

He lived his life in gratitude for all things, good and bad. His passions were gardening, carving, having and attending garage sales, winters spent in Apache Junction, AZ, journaling, AA and Al-Anon. His dry wit and incredible sense of humor were legendary.

Heartfelt gratitude from Ellis and his family to all his “angels”, especially his caregivers and friends at Arabella Manor and Knute Nelson.

As Ellis would say to all he loved, “Bye for now.”

In lieu of memorials, Ellis’s family suggests making a donation to local Al-Anon and Alcoholics Anonymous Groups.