Hans Claus Deichmann was born February 6, 1914, to Arthur and Anna (Mueller) Deichmann in Colfax County, Nebraska. He was baptized and confirmed at St. Paul's Lutheran Church and attained an eighth-grade education at a district school near Leigh, Nebraska. On July 9, 1941, he was united in marriage to Hildene Arnilda Lund at Madison, MN. Two daughters, Sandra and Mary, were born to this union.
Prior to his marriage, Hans worked as a farm laborer in Nebraska and Minnesota. He was a member of the Dawson National Guard Company K and served his country during World War II, both in combat in North Africa and as a guard for German prisoners of war in Alva, Oklahoma. After his discharge, Hans and Hildene lived in Dawson, where he operated a feedmill service, and in Providence Twp., where they farmed. They moved to a farm near Milan in 1952. Hans and Hildene were both 4-H club leaders. They returned to Dawson in 1961, and Hans drove a truck for Dawson Mills, managed a Phillip 66 station, and worked for area farmers. Always wanting to be active, he spent his retirement years hiring out for field work and tending extensive vegetable gardens. His enthusiasm for gardening was exceeded only by his love for his family and his devotion to Hildene. He cared for her at home during her recovery from a stroke and visited her daily when she moved to the Johnson Memorial Home. After her death on August 9, 1996, he continued to be a frequent visitor at the Home and became a resident himself in 1998. He passed away there on Saturday morning, October 30, 1999, at the age of 85.
Hans was preceded in death by his wife, Hildene; parents, Arthur and Anna; brothers: Ernest, Arthur, Paul, Ewald, William, George, Herbert, and Walter; and nephews: LaVern and Franklin Deichmann.
He is survived by his daughters: Sandra (Virgil) Ellefson of Dawson and Mary (Verdell) Krugerud of Minnetonka; five grandchildren: Earl Ellefson of Dawson, Jason (Kathie) Ellefson of Willmar, Jennie (Gary) Schumacher of Glencoe, Jill Krugerud of Robbinsdale, and Josie Krugerud of Minnetonka; three great-granddaughters: Brittany Ellefson and Rebecca and Ashley Schumacher; three sisters-in-law: Alice (Ewald) Deichmann of Columbus, NE, Alice (George) Deichmann of Leigh, NE, and Emma (Walter) Deichmann of Fremont, CA; Hildene's sisters-in-law: Violet (Marvin) Lund and Edna (Ambrose) Lund of Dawson; many nieces and nephews; and, from a previous marriage, his son, Jim Walker, and family of Orem, Utah.