This Veterans Day, was an especially memorable for the families of Earl Hoff and Clarence Quanrud. Two Minnesota Veterans that both served in the Korean War, and as mayor of Preston, Minnesota where this Veterans Day they became the first Veterans laid to rest in Preston's newly-opened State Veterans cemetery.

The ceremony was a celebration of their lives, their service, and their dedication to the town of Preston. Their families gathered to watch them be interred in the city which they served as city council members and then as mayor, Hoff from 1991 to 1994 and Quanrud from 1994 to 2002.
Hoff passed away in 2009 and Quanrud in 2011. Both are survived by their widows, Eloise Hoff and Martha Quanrud, who were present and had decided to wait until the Preston cemetery opened to honor and inter their husbands in the city which they so admirably served.

Preston is the second state Veteran cemetery, after Little Falls, and is on schedule to have an official dedication ceremony on Memorial Day, 2016.

***Note from Cemetery: As of now, access to the cemetery is not officially open and we understand and appreciate the anticipation for the new facility, however in the interest of public safety and liability for the general contractor and the state of Minnesota, we ask that the general public wait until the official opening of the cemetery to drive through the property.

For more information, visit the /mdva/memorials/stateveteranscemeteries/minnesota-state-veterans-cemetery-preston.jspMinnesota State Veteran Cemetery-Preston webpage.