Joseph Tuchscherer, 89 Auburn, Wash., formerly of Minot, died Sunday, Sept. 6, 2009, in the Wesley Homes Healthcare Center in Des Moines, Wash., while recuperating from hip replacement surgery.

Joseph was born Feb. 28, 1920, to German-Russian immigrants Frank and Katherine (Kreidel) Tuchscherer, at their homestead in Blumenfeld. He was the only son among their 10 children. He attended and completed eight grades of school in the Smokey Lake School District.

Joseph was united in marriage to Philomena "Phyllis" Marquart on Nov. 26, 1945. They purchased the homestead from his mother and farmed the homestead for the next 25 years. They raised seven children on their farm in Blumenfeld. During this time he also worked for the railroad, the missile sites and Monarch Concrete. In 1970, they sold the farm and moved the family to Minot, where Joseph continued working for Monarch Concrete until he retired in 1982.

He was a member of St. Leo's Catholic Church and belonged to the Knights of Columbus.

After Joseph's much-beloved wife of almost 57 years, Phyllis, passed away in 2002, he moved to a retirement center in Auburn, Wash., in 2004, where he lived until his passing.

Joseph's hobbies included gardening, woodworking, playing most any card game, watching baseball and going to the casino. A favorite pastime during the 12 days before Christmas was to monitor and record the weather conditions, and from this information he would predict the weather for each month of the coming year. He was published as being a "Weather Prophet who enjoyed tremendous success." He also so enjoyed seeing his great-grandchildren on a regular basis. One of his greatest joys was to treat each one of them with a lollipop every time he'd see them.

Joseph is survived by: his seven children, Mary Ann (Jerome) Haman, of Kent, Wash., Daniel (Renae Korslien) Tuchscherer, Minot, Clements (Melody) Tuchscherer, Enumclaw, Wash., David (Roxanne) Tuchscherer, Otsego, Minn., Irene (Jack) Danner, Auburn, Linda (Tuchscherer) Racine, Minot, Karla (Dwight) Raine, of Kent; 14 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren: and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

Joseph was preceded in death by his father; mother; wife; daughter-in-law, Joan Tuchscherer; grandson, Jimmy Tuchscherer; and all nine sisters.

Visitation: Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009, from 1 to 7 p.m. at Thompson-Larson Funeral Home, Minot.

Vigil prayer service: Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Thompson-Larson Funeral Home Chapel, Minot.

Mass of Christian Burial: Friday, Sept. 18, at 10 a.m. in St. Leo's Catholic Church, Minot.

Burial: Rosehill Memorial Park, Minot.

Those wishing to sign the online register and share memories may access the online obituaries section at (www.thompsonlarson.com).