Joseph Lanners, 92, Buckman

October 5, 1933 - April 5, 2026

Joseph “Joe” Lanners, a 92-year-old resident of Buckman, Minnesota passed away on Sunday, April 5, 2026 at St. Gabriel's Hospital in Little Falls. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Friday, April 10 at 11:00 A.M. at St. Michael's Catholic Church in Buckman, Minnesota with Father Aaron Nett and Father Kenneth Popp concelebrating. The burial will be held in the parish cemetery. Visitation will be held from 4:00-7:00 P.M. on Thursday, April 9 at Emblom Brenny Funeral Service in Pierz and from 9:30-11:30 A.M. on Friday, April 10 at St. Michael's Catholic Church in Buckman. The Pierz American Legion will provide military honors. The Christian Mothers will pray a Rosary at 4:30 P.M. followed by the Knights of Columbus at 6:00 P.M. Thursday at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to the Pierz Area Food Shelf: 220 Main Street S #5, Pierz, MN 56364.

Joe was born on October 5, 1933 in Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota. He was the son of the late William and Margaret (Bach) Lanners. He grew up on a farm where he developed a love of farming and learned the value of hard work and community. He attended grade school in St. Leo, Minnesota and graduated from Clarkfield High School. After school, he enlisted in the United States Army on March 12, 1954 and was stationed in South Korea and Japan, being honorably discharged on February 29, 1956. He was united in marriage to Gloria Wambeke on February 16, 1957 at St. Edward's Catholic Church in Minneota, Minnesota. Shortly after their marriage, Joe and Gloria moved to the farm they purchased near Buckman. The young couple embraced the community, where they went on to raise seven children and forge lifelong friendships. After milking cows for thirty-eight years, the couple sold their dairy herd, but Joe stayed busy selling seed corn and continued farming the land.

A social person, Joe loved to visit with family and friends. Talking with him, you knew you were in for a long and interesting story! An avid fisherman, he enjoyed many fishing trips with friends and neighbors over the years.

After retiring, he embraced and expanded Gloria’s garden and also took up beekeeping. These hobbies provided an abundance of honey and produce for everybody in the community. Moving in fall of 2025 from his beloved farm to Highland Senior Living, the desire to plant still remained in his blood, where he hoped to still grow "a few radishes" over the summer. From professional Minnesota teams to local high school games, he liked watching sports and especially enjoyed spending Sunday afternoons in the summer cheering on the Buckman Billygoats. A longtime member of St. Michael's Catholic Church, his faith was important and he served for many years on both the church council and board of trustees. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus and Pierz American Legion Post #341.

He is survived by his children: Deborah (Arthur) Krieg of Needham, MA; Sharon (Brad) Schmidtbauer of Anoka, MN; Laura (James) Garbe of Stillwater, MN; Donna (Morgan) Grelson of Burnsville, MN; James (Kristin) Lanners of Sartell, MN; Lisa (Todd) Lewis of Arlington, TX; and Jill (Kevin) Leyk of Bloomington, MN, along with 16 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren; siblings, Dorothy Oldakowski, Sister Edna Lanners, Walter (Diane) Lanners, Cletus (Lorraine) Lanners, and Joyce Citterman.

He was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Gloria Lanners; infant son, Joseph James Lanners; granddaughter, Rachel Schmidtbauer; siblings, Lawrence (Jane) Lanners, Lorraine (Harry) Hofmeister, Alfred (Gladys) Lanners and Ruth (Vince) Caron; brothers-in-law, Ray Citterman and Bob Oldakowski and sister-in-law, Joanne Lanners.

The family of Joe would like to thank the area community for the wonderful friendship with their father over the years.