Forrest Kreisher

Forrest Dean “Babe” Kreisher

Babe Kreisher died on Saturday March 14 at his Elk River home. He was 94.

Babe was born on February 10, 1932, in Elk River to George and Nora Ann Martin Kreisher. He was the youngest of 11 children and was known as Babe his whole life. He graduated from Elk River HS in 1951. After graduation he spent a couple of years scaling logs and then joined the army. He was stationed at Fort Lewis Washington from 1953 – 1955 where he was a small arms repairman. During his time in the service he met his wife, Della Halvorson. They were married on February 18, 1955, and made their home in Elk River. They were married for 69 years until Della’s death in 2024.

After his time in the service, Babe worked in the woods skidding logs until his retirement in 1992. For several years, Babe served as president of the local International Woodworkers of America. He served on the Elk River city council and was a Clearwater County Highway District commissioner. He was also chairman of the board for the Elk River Cemetery District for more than 50 years. Babe took great pride in being a life-long resident of Elk River.

Babe loved to hunt, fish and camp and was quite the storyteller. He also loved to be an entertainer and showed off his talent as a yodeler whenever he had the chance. I’m sure if you knew Babe then you’ve heard him sing and yodel.

Babe is survived by his older brother Gordon (Deanna), his daughters Nora Carpenter and Jackie (Ron) Lovell, 5 grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren and 1 great-great-grandchild.