Obituary of Pete Strand

Pete Strand III, of Farmington, MN peacefully passed away on April 11, 2016 surrounded by family and friends. He was born on December 23, 1975 in Fargo, ND. He graduated with a GED from ALC/Apple Valley High School in Apple Valley, MN. Pete is survived by his loving wife Kellie (Kurth) Strand, parents Pete and Sandy Strand of Burnsville, sister Amy (Dwight) and their children (Ashley and Dani) of New Prague and brother Ryan(special friend Jenna Tripplet and her son Jackson) of Northfield, in-laws Gary and Karen Kurth of Hutchinson, formerly of Cosmos, sister-in-law Carrie of Hutchinson, and brother-in-law Bill (Leah) and their children (Larkun, Livia and Briecyn) of Cosmos. Pete worked at numerous jobs in the auto industry and most recently was employed at Richfield Bloomington Honda. He had various job titles within the auto industry and was currently parts manager at Richfield Bloomington Honda. Because of Pete’s contagious laugh and easy-going personality many long-term friendships were made with his co-workers. In 2009 he met Kellie Kurth through a blind date and that relationship grew into a love that seemed too good to be true. They married in 2013. Pete loved sports especially the Twins and Vikings. He was a huge football fan and loved his MN Vikings! On a Sunday during football season you could always find Pete watching the game. He enjoyed bowling during the winter months when he could not play or umpire softball games. If he wasn’t umpiring or playing softball he was out with his friends playing golf. Pete started playing softball when he was 15 years old. The love of the game and his father’s love of softball and softball umpiring drew him into the role of an umpire. At the age of 18 in the summer of 1993 he began his umpire career. He continued to play ball but his interest waned after a few years. During his softball playing career he played in three world tournaments with his teammates (which included his Dad). They finished as high as fourth in the country. As he was playing softball he continued umpiring and developed the knowledge and skill of a world-class umpire. In 2005 he umpired his first Dudley Classic Softball Tournament. He continued umpiring the Dudley and most recently in 2015 he was the umpire-in-chief (UIC). Also during this time, he umpired over 100 MN state tournaments, 6 world tournaments that included men’s B, C, D and E and women’s A, B, C and D. He has umpired over 1500 tournament games and over 5000 league games. Because of his past performances Pete will soon be in the Minnesota USSSA Softball Hall of Fame. Memorial services will be at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Burnsville, MN on Saturday April 16th by Pastor David Tiarks. Gathering of friends and family at 5pm with memorial service at 6pm. Live plant donations or memorials to family are preferred.