Msgr. Edward Lechtenberg

Msgr. Edward W. Lechtenberg, 98, of Lansing died Monday, January 6, 2025, at Thornton Manor in Lansing. Funeral services will be held Saturday, January 18 at 10:30 a.m. at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Lansing with Archbishop Thomas Zinkula officiating. Prior to the service, starting at 10 a.m., the Luren Singing Society will provide prelude music.

Burial will be at Gethsemane Cemetery, Lansing. Lunch will follow in the church hall. Friends may greet the family from 4-7 p.m. Friday, January 17 at the church, where there will be a 3:30 p.m. rosary with a scripture service to follow. Thornburg-Grau Funeral Home in Lansing is handling arrangements.

Msgr. Edward William Lechtenberg was born September 17, 1926, in Lansing, the son of Joseph and Mary (Foley) Lechtenberg. He was baptized and confirmed at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Lansing. Msgr. Ed’s father died when he was just three years old, leaving his mother with five kids in the midst of the Great Depression. From this experience, he learned from an early age how to work hard and never take a single day for granted. Msgr. Ed graduated from Immaculate Conception High School in 1944, continuing his education at Loras College, and graduating in 1947.

Growing up, he stayed busy working on farms, in the lumberyard, and for the Iowa State Conservation Commission. Msgr. Ed also knew how to have a good time. He enjoyed dancing, fishing, and singing and was a member of the Luren Singing Society in Decorah.

Following college, he was offered a job at the Iowa State Conservation Commission. He also wanted to join the Navy, when one day he thought, “I should become a priest!” Msgr. Ed was ordained May 3, 1951, thus starting a long and fulfilling life of serving others and their communities.

Msgr. Ed served at the Cathedral in Dubuque; St. Mary and St. Peter Claver in Waterloo; a prison in Anamosa; Buffalo Center, where he served on a mission in Woden; Sacred Heart in Eagle Grove; St. Benedict in Decorah; and St. Patrick Catholic Church in Waukon, from where he eventually retired in 2000.

Survivors include many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and four siblings: Anna, Marie, Joe, and Teresa.

Casketbearers are Joseph, Edward, Karl, and Kurt Lechtenberg, Jacob Burns, and Edward, Christopher, and Robert Scheid. Online condolences may be left at www.martinfunerals.com.