Harland William “Bill” Meehl, 83, Little Falls and formerly Royalton

June 24, 1941 - December 4, 2024

Harland William “Bill” Meehl, died at the age of 83 years old at Little Falls Care Center in Little Falls, MN. Bill was formerly of Royalton, MN. He lived an active life from June 24, 1941 to December 4, 2024.

The family of Harland “Bill” Meehl will hold a visitation for friends and family on Thursday, December 12th, 2024 from 3:00-5:30 pm and a celebration of life service at 6:00 pm, at Graham United Methodist Church in Rice, MN. Pastor Ric Koehn and Pastor Cassi Betker will officiate the service. A private burial will be done at the church cemetery at a later date. The cremation has been taken care of by “Cremations A Simple Way” Williams Dingmann Family Funeral Homes of St. Cloud, MN. Arrangements have been taken care of by his family.

Bill was born June 24, 1941 in Farmington, Minnesota in Dakota County to Bernice (Fredrickson) and Harland Meehl. He moved to Sauk Rapids with his family to a farm and graduated from Sauk Rapids High School in 1958. He met his wife, Sylvia (Vannurden) there and they were united in marriage on June 16, 1962 at Graham United Methodist Church in Rice, MN.

Bill and Sylvia moved to a little farm south of Little Rock, MN. Shortly after purchased the Baumgardner Farm West of Little Rock, MN. They lived and farmed there for 35 years with their five children in the Royalton area. Bill was also an artificial insemination service technician. First, he worked for the Minnesota Valley Breeders Association, 21st Century Genetics, and retired from Select Sires Inc. in June of 2003. He won many awards nationally for conception rates in dairy, beef, and buffalo.

He later on enjoyed deer hunting with his children and fixing everything they broke with duck tape or welding. He was also known for his “duck” talking to grandchildren, neighbors and customers on his daily route with many memorable jokes and laughs with milk and cookies. Bill was ready to assist with machinery repairs and solving problems for others. He also loved his short 20 minute naps on the couch while his wife talked on the phone to the “arm” and other people.

Bill loved his five children, twenty grandchildren, twenty-one great grandchildren and one on the way. He enjoyed showing them his acquired collections and telling stories about them over the years.

Bill is survived by his daughters: Lonnie Meehl of Buckman; Lee (Kevin) Gadacz of Morrill; Lorie(Chad)Duevel of Royalton, and his sons: Robert Meehl, Royalton; Jeremiah (Lisa)Meehl of Royalton. Brother Harvey (Karen) Meehl of Rice. Brother-in-laws and sister-in-laws Wilbur and Mickey Vannurden of Royalton; Carol Peglow of Fairhaven; Dennis and Laura Vannurden of Rice, Charlie and Judy Borchardt of Big Lake; Gary and Janice Vannurden of Rice; Dale and Terri Vannurden of Rice, and Allen and RoseAnne Vannurden of Rice with lots of nieces and nephews. Grandchildren: Josh and (Callie) Miller, Chad Miller, Mitch (Katie) Miller, James(Augustina) Miller, and Alex and (Kayla) Schmidtbauer of Pierz. Derek (Chelsea) Meehl of Rice, Tyler (Brittney) Meehl of Rice, Jordan (Chasidy) Meehl and Marshall Meehl also of Morrill. Daniel (Amy) Gadacz of Buckman. Kristine (Nate) Dziuk of Zimmerman. Tony and Clinton Gadacz of Morrill. Kellan, Kendra, Morgan and Sascha Duevel of Royalton. Trevor, Ashton, and Mason Meehl of Royalton and twenty-one great grandchildren.

Bill is preceded in death by his wife Sylvia June 14, 2005 and his parents Harland and Bernice Meehl. His in-laws Archal and Alvera Vannurden, brother-in-laws Larry Vannurden and Arthur Peglow. His sister-in-law Patsy Vannurden. Nephews Donald Vannurden. Niece Carmen Britz. Nephew-in-law Thomas Zipoy. Great nephew Steven Pekarek. Great-great niece Mylee Scapanski.