Memorial Bench Dedicated to Jerry Relph Unveiled in Wilson Park

St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis, Pegi Broker-Relph and others unveil a memorial bench for the late state senator Jerry Relph in Wilson Park on February 16th, 2020. Photo by Dene Dryden.

(KNSI) – Though the late Minnesota Senator Jerry Relph will be laid to rest in Michigan later this year, a memorial to the civil servant and U.S. Marine Corps veteran will remain in St. Cloud. On Tuesday afternoon, amid single-digit temperatures, a small crowd gathered at Wilson Park along the Mississippi River for a memorial bench dedication ceremony.

Pegi Broker-Relph, Relph’s wife, remarked that her late husband wished to be cremated and placed at an island in Lake Huron, a wish that she says her family will fulfill this summer.

“But that doesn’t leave me a place here in St. Cloud to go and reflect — until now,” Broker-Relph said of the new bench. “So fitting, so wonderful for all of us.”

Just after 1 p.m. Tuesday, St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis welcomed attendees and spoke about Relph.

“Today, we honor a man who made a difference in this world,” Kleis said. “A husband, a father, friend, a state senator, a Marine. It’s the title of ‘United States Marine’ I know Jerry was extremely proud of. It’s why today we dedicate, in granite, a memorial to his service.”

St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis speaks at a bench dedication ceremony for the late state senator Jerry Relph in Wilson Park on February 16th, 2020. Photo by Dene Dryden.

Marine Corps veterans carried out other parts of the ceremony; members of the MetroVets Organization posted the colors and coordinated a rifle salute, and Marine Corps League Commander John Schiel led a prayer. Veteran James Bryan performed a hymn.

The new bench, engraved with the words “In Memory of Senator Jerry Relph,” is placed at a veteran’s memorial in Wilson Park. It faces another bench that honors Mathias Kleis and Thomas Kleis — two of the mayor’s brothers, who both were also Marines.

“They’re both honored here, and I know they would be so honored to be joined with a fellow Marine, Jerry Relph, who today we dedicate this bench,” Kleis said.

Relph died on December 18th, 2020 due to complications from COVID-19. A Vietnam veteran and tax law attorney, Relph represented St. Cloud as a Republican in the Minnesota Senate for one term. In the 2020 general election, he was narrowly beaten by a DFL opponent, now-Senator Aric Putnam.