Charlotte Margaret Fankhanel

Charlotte M. Fankhanel age 98 of Detroit Lakes, MN, formerly of Vergas, MN died October 21, 2013 at the Cottages of Ecumen in Detroit Lakes. Charlotte Margaret Fankhanel was born on October 12, 1915 in Vergas, MN to Henry and Hattie Quiram Hinze. She contracted Polio shortly after taking her first steps and spent numerous years as a patient at the Gillette State Hospital for Crippled Children in St. Paul, MN. Her parents would put her on the train to travel to St. Paul and she would very much look forward to the few times that they were able to visit. Long leg braces and casts were part of her early life, but that didn't prevent her from swimming in Long Lake and fishing with Kurt. She was determined not to be a cripple even with one foot several sizes smaller than the other. Charlotte graduated from Frazee High School in 1934. She then moved to St. Paul where she worked as a Medical Secretary for over six years at the same hospital where she spent so much of her childhood. On August 26, 1940 she was united in marriage to Kurt W. Fankhanel in Nashua, Iowa. They made their home in Vergas, MN. Charlotte worked alongside Kurt in the Fankhanel Corner Sweet Shop during the prohibition years, and the Fankhanel Tavern (now Billy's) until they sold it in 1971. Charlotte was instrumental in organizing the first Boy Scout Troop in Vergas. She enjoyed cooking and baking, and was known for her pies. She and Kurt also enjoyed traveling in their retirement years. She is survived by her son Tom Fankhanel of Detroit Lakes, MN; daughter in law, Judy Fankhanel, of Detroit Lakes, MN; six grandchildren, Shawna Fankhanel, Katie (Mike) McGowan, Christine (Matthew Meyer) Fankhanel, David (Betsy) Fankhanel, Charles Fankhanel, and Martin Fankhanel; five great grandchildren, Alexa and Carter McGowan, Neva Penelope and Bergen Kurt Fankhanel, and Mattole Stuart Meyer; and a sister in law, Alice Fankhanel, of Perham, MN. She was preceded in death by her husband Kurt (2007); one son, Rev. Stuart Fankhanel; one sister, Lucile Fankhanel; one brother, Ambrose Hinze; and her parents.