Kragenbring, Dale A. 3/5/1933 to 7/28/2014 age 81, of Atwater, died Monday, July 28, at his home in Atwater from cancer.Funeral service will be held 2 P.M., Friday, August 1st, at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Atwater. The interment will be in the Oakside Cemetery of rural Spicer. Military Honors will be provided by the Samstad-Jensen American Legion Post 375 of Atwater. Visitation will be from 5-8 P.M., Thursday at the Peterson Brothers Atwater Funeral Home and one hour prior to the service at the church. Memorials are preferred to the Immanuel Lutheran Church in Atwater or the Rice Hospice in Willmar. (wwwpetersonbrothers.com) Dale Allen Kragenbring was born on March 5, 1933, in Harrison Township near Atwater, Minnesota, the son of Hazel (Ferguson) and Fritz Kragenbring. He grew up in that area, attended District 3 country school and graduated from Atwater High School in 1951. Dale served in the U.S. Army, 7th Cavalry as Head Tank Machinist for International Border Patrol between Germany and Communist Czechoslovakia, East Germany. He was discharged and returned home to Atwater and worked for Home Brothers Plumbing and Heating. Dale was a State of Minnesota licensed plumber and steam fitter as well as a U.S. licensed in refrigeration. He did plumbing, steam fitting and estimations for Holm Brothers. On March 28, 1987, he married Martha "Marty" Ann Ross in Atwater and they made their home there. Dale retired from Holm Brothers in 1995 after 40 years of service. He continued to work on his own doing plumbing, heating and air conditioning or whatever was needed to help others. Dale also continued to do a little farming on the side. He was an active member of Immanuel Lutheran Church, member of the Atwater Lions and became a Melvin Jones Fellow for service to the Lions Club in 2012. He was also a member of the Atwater Clinic Board, the Atwater Economic Development Committee and was a partner of the Atwater Grain and Supply. Dale was chosen Atwater's Good Neighbor in 1995. He was fondly known as "Papa" to his grandchildren, always made sure to have candy on hand to give the kids. He loved to work in his shed and fix anything and everything that was dropped off by someone. When he wasn't busy in his shed or off repairing something, he was having coffee with his good friends or catching up on Fox news. He was so proud and cared so much about the town of Atwater and he even offered suggestion on how to improve it in his last days. Dale is survived by his wife, Marty of Atwater; daughter, Tracy Packingham of Duluth and 2 grandchildren Michael and Jenny Packingham of Duluth. Also surviving are 3 brothers, Lee (Gloria) Kragenbring of Scottsdale, AZ, Floyd (Betty Lou) Kragenbring of Atwater and Lloyd (Vicki) Kragenbring of Eau Claire, WI and 2 sisters; Doris Thompson of Atwater and Karen (Russ) Anderson of Willmar, 1 sister-in-law, Leone Kragenbring of Seattle, WA; many nephews and nieces, beside other relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, 2 brothers, Jerome and Donald Kragenbring and 1 brother-in-law, Roger Thompson.