Rodney G. Hatle, age 85, of Owatonna, Minn., died on Sept. 28, 2020, at Homestead Hospice in Owatonna. Rodney Gene Hatle was born on July 16, 1935, in Albert Lea, the son of Evelyn Hatle. He was raised in New Richland by his grandmother Clara Hatle and graduated from New Richland High School in 1953. On Sept. 14, 1953, he enlisted into the United States Army and served three years, including as a paratrooper, and was honorably discharged.

Rodney graduated from Luther College in 1961, and attended post-graduate courses at Minnesota State University, Mankato. On Jan. 30, 1965, he married Carolyn Jean Ash at First Methodist Church in Fort Dodge, Iowa. Rodney taught high school in Britt, Webster City, and Mason City, Iowa for ten years before returning to Minnesota.

He was a Sports Editor with the Fairmont Sentinel newspaper for two years, and then taught English for Fairmont High School for 23 years. He diligently worked to teach his students to think broadly and write clearly. In his retirement, his passions were family, local history, and politics. He wrote a regular Moments in Time column for the New Richland and Ellendale Star Eagle. He was especially fond of sports history, and in his final days he remarked that Major League Baseball should never have switched from having players choose the All Stars to having fans choose the All Stars. Rodney enjoyed creating and producing notebooks of family and local history for the New Richland Area Historical Society. He loved visiting and spending time with family, especially his son Kelvin's theater performances in the Twin Cities and his grandchildren in Florida.

Rodney is survived by his loving wife, Carolyn Hatle of Owatonna; sons, Kelvin Alexander Hatle of Minneapolis and John Daniel Hatle ’91 (Amy) of Jacksonville, Fla.; grandchildren, Rudy Elizabeth Jean and Reid Mitchell Hatle; and extended family, including Garth (Cynthia) Foley of Janesville and Erin (David) Lausier of Palmer, Alaska. He was preceded in death by his extended family, including Clara Hatle, Evelyn and Raymond Foley, and Michelle Foley-Lampman.

A private inurnment at Hartland Cemetery will be held at a later date. A celebration of Rodney’s life and work will be held at the New Richland Area Historical Society in early summer 2021. Memorials are preferred to the NRAHS.