Henrich (Henry) Tetzlaff

My hero is someone who has been through a lot of things. This person is my grandpa; “Opa” as we call him. He was born in 1936 in Hohen Walde, Oestpressem, Germany (High Forest, East Prussia, Germany). His parents were Henrich and Johanna Tetzlaff. He has two sisters, Ilse and Erika, and three brothers, Helmut, Wolfgang, and David. Opa grew up on a farm in East Prussia.

Henry had many struggles in his life. When he was eight years old, his dad got drafted into the German Army. His mother was left with four children and the farm to take care of. Soon, the Russian Army came close to his town, and they had to move. They took a wagon of clothing and food and left everything else behind. The family got to a seaport, took a ship over the Baltic Sea, and then rode trains for two days. God kept them safe throughout the whole way to Denmark. There they stayed in a refugee camp with 36,000 other people because this was a safer part of Europe. Later, Germany lost the war and the English fenced in and guarded the refugee camp. Opa’s family had just enough food to survive.

After the war, they found his father. Because of the war, many houses and buildings were destroyed. They stayed with a farmer in two small rooms where there were five to six people in the two rooms. His father did not have a job, so they were going to move to America where they knew relatives. To get to America, they took an airplane and a train. My grandpa was 15 years old when they moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota. They did not know any English or very much about American culture, but his relatives helped them to live. He and his family thanked God that He kept them safe throughout their journey to America.

When my grandfather was young, his first job was working on the farm like most kids did at that time. As he got older he had many other jobs such as a shipyard apprentice, shipping clerk, machinist, and parking attendant for the University of Minnesota (his worst job). After he graduated in engineering at the U of M, he had three engineering jobs. First at an Electronics Company and then at Toro Company. His last job was as the Director of Design and Development at Toro.

At age 64, my grandfather found out he had leukemia and was given only five years to live. His blood was getting worse each day so the doctor said he should have chemotherapy. Many people prayed for his health and that God would heal him. After six months, God did heal him! Ten years later, he has good health and is thankful to God.

The accomplishments he is proud of are getting his engineering degree, designing new products for Toro, and raising six successful children with his wife. Some of the things that Opa likes to do are watch baseball and soccer. Fixing things is also one of his hobbies, especially fixing cars and computers.

Billy Graham is someone he admires because of his integrity, faith, and ability to tell people about Jesus. When it comes to his favorite Bible verse, he likes Psalms 1:1-6, “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the council of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sits in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by the streams of water, which yields its fruit in the season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. Not so the wicked! They are chaff that blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.”

I chose my grandfather, because I have heard bits and pieces of his life and wanted to learn more about him, which I did. He always listens and knows a lot about the Bible and he can teach me things. Henry Tetzlaff has led a very interesting life, and I am glad I could learn more about him.