Raymond Joseph Nakladal

Raymond Joseph (SHOEMAN) Nakladal, 86 year old resident of Janesville, went to meet our Lord on Wednesday evening, January 3, 2018, at the Janesville Nursing Home.
Memorial Mass of Christian Burial will be 11:00 AM on Saturday, January 13, 2018, at St. Ann Catholic Church of Janesville with Fr. Michael Cronin, celebrant. Interment will be in St. Ann Catholic Cemetery. Visitation will be one hour prior to the Mass at Church on Saturday. Memorials are preferred to St. Ann Catholic Church.
Arrangements are with Starkson & Steffel Funeral & Cremation Services ~ Arnoldt Chapel of Janesville. www.janesvillefuneral.com
Raymond Joseph Nakladal was born on August 31, 1931, in South St. Paul to Jacob and Mary (Sadinka) Nakladal. He attended grade school at St. Augustine Catholic School through 6th grade when his family moved to St. Paul. Ray graduated from the St. Paul Cathedral Grade School before moving back to So. St. Paul where he graduated from South St. Paul High School in 1950.
On October 20th, 1956, Ray was united in marriage to Patricia Stepan at St. Ann Catholic Church in Janesville. Together, they lived in St. Paul for a few years before moving to Mankato where Ray began to learn the shoe business at Harolds Shoes, then S & L Stores in Owatonna, he later transferred to S & L Department Store in Faribault. In 1961, Ray and his wife Pat moved to Waseca, buying out the Meyers Shoe Stores in Waseca, renaming it Rays Family Shoes, which they operated for 33 years. Ray also worked at Kraft General Foods (Birdseye) and Dean Foods in Waseca, where he retired in September of 1997. In 2002, Ray and Pat moved to Janesville to be closer to family.
Ray was a member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Waseca where he served as a Eucharistic Minister of the Holy Eucharist and was a past member of the church council. He later became a member of St. Ann Catholic Church and Catholic Order of Foresters St. Anns Court #645 of Janesville. He was a man of faith, attending Adoration weekly. Ray was very involved in his communities where he was a member of the Knights of Columbus in St. Paul and Waseca, Jaycees in Faribault and Waseca, serving as Vice President and receiving the Distinguished Service Award in 1966. He was also a member of the Waseca Chamber of Commerce. Ray was a huge sports fan; he enjoyed watching the Minnesota Gophers, Twins, and Timberwolves and was a proud season ticket holder for the Vikings. Above all Ray enjoyed spending time with his wife, nieces, nephews and friends. He will be dearly missed.
Ray is survived by his best friends and wife of 61 years, Pat; sisters: Agnes (Ron) Saver of Forest Lake and Theresa ONeal of West St. Paul; brothers-in-law: Joe Kaiser of Long Prairie, Ken (Bonnie) Stepan of Mankato and Joe Stepan of Bloomington; many nieces and nephews, other relatives and friends.
Ray was preceded in death by his parents, one brother Dan; sisters: Hattie Schlemmer, Martha Kaiser and his youngest sister, Mary Ann; brother-in-law, Leo Schlemmer; sister-in-law, Portia Stepan.