Clarence Scharpen, age 84, of Cambridge died August 25, 2012 at Golden Living Center in Rush City. The funeral service will be held at 11:00 A.M. on Wednesday, August 29, 2012 at Long Lake Lutheran Church in rural Isanti with Rev. Matt Flom officiating. Visitation will be on Tuesday, August 28th from 4 – 8 P.M. AT THE CHURCH. There will also be a visitation one hour before the service on Wednesday at the church.
Clarence Earl Scharpen was born June 25, 1928 in Fessenden, North Dakota to John and Bertha (Heins) Scharpen. He lived his early years in Fessenden and then the family moved to Fosston, Minnesota. Clarence served in the Army during the Korean War and then he joined the Air Force Reserves. On June 10, 1957 he married Joyce Whittnebeen and they made their first home in North Minneapolis. They later moved to South Minneapolis, Blaine, Lino Lakes and then in 1997 they moved to Cambridge. Clarence had many businesses over the years. He sold Christmas trees, he had a carpet cleaning and cleaning business for 30 years and also worked for FMC for 30 years. Clarence always did recycling and opened Clarence’s Recycling in Isanti in 2002 where he still actively worked. Clarence would help anyone and always offered to help out. He always said “no problem” and said every day was a fantastic day and he had never seen a bad day. He loved to talk and tell stories. He was a member of Long Lake Lutheran Church, Coon Rapids American Legion, Isanti Chamber, he worked with the Salvation Army and the Blaine Chamber in earlier years. Clarence was a Boy Scout leader, T-ball coach, part of the SPONERS bowling team and also farmed. He hunted and enjoyed fishing with a cane pole. Clarence loved to travel and they visited every state except Hawaii and Maryland. He will live on in the hearts of all who knew him and in the businesses that he built.
Clarence died August 25, 2012 at Golden Living Center in Rush City at the age of 84 years and 2 months.
Besides his parents he was preceded in death by son, John; great-granddaughter, Shayera; 2 brothers and 4 sisters.
Clarence is survived by his wife of 55 years, Joyce; 3 children, Beverly (Mark) Christenson, Michael Scharpen, Susan Scharpen; 9 grandchildren, Makella, Michael, Erin, Keenan, Koby, Dusty, Adam, Jasmine, Jeremy; 5 great-grandchildren, Alyssa, Drew, Justin, Greta, Michael; and by many other relatives and friends.
The staff at the Creamery Crossing send our condolences to the family. He will be missed in the early morning hours and other times he visited with the Mrs. We send our thoughts and prayers to all the family and friends as we know this is a very difficult time and into the future. God be with all of you during these difficult times
In the short time that God allowed me to spend with Clarence , he changed my life. Clarence was a living example of gods grace and kindness. After a severe accident.Clarence helped mè regain my confidence dignity and sence of worth. The word friend can not come close to describe the giant of a man created with a peace of Gods own heart, thank you Clarence …..I will forever remember the man that never uttered a negative word you truly set the bar for what a man should be
I always enjoyed being around Clarence. He was one of those people that made me feel happy just hanging around with the guy. He and my dad Robert Finseth and my uncle Al Finseth spent many hours together junking back in the day. Clarence was always willing to find me scrap metal if I needed something for a project. Clarence was one of my favorite people, and someone who made the world a better place. My heart goes out to Joyce and the rest of Clarence’s family and friends over their loss. I know he will be sorely missed.
The people at Harvest Church send their condolences. Clarence will be remembered as a very fair,kind,generous,and honest business person. He treated people right. We will be praying for the family at this challenging time. Our hearts go out to you. He will be missed!
I only had the pleasure of meeting Clarence on a couple of occasions through his recycling center, but I was immediately struck by his demeanor and could tell easily the kind of man he was. I am not surprised to read the other guestbook remarks on what kind of man he was and the impact he had on people. It seems that no matter the amount of time Clarence had with you, he left an indelible impression on you that life was alright.