Obituaries

Erma J. Cooper

Erma J. Cooper, age 85 of Meire Grove, passed away peacefully surrounded by her family on Sunday, April 16, 2023 at her home in Meire Grove, Minnesota.

An inurnment will be held at a later date at Pleasant Valley Cemetery in Clotho, Minnesota.

Erma JoAnn McIntyre was born December 21, 1937 in Bertha, Minnesota to William and Anna (Bodle) McIntyre. On August 9, 1953 she was united in marriage to Richard James Fearing in Minneapolis. The couple lived in Long Prairie where she worked at Harts Press which later she retired from. Richard passed away in 2003. Erma was united in marriage to Charles Cooper on June 24, 2006 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Long Prairie. The couple moved to Melrose and then to Meire Grove to be close to their grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Erma was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Long Prairie and the American Legion Post 12 Unit 12 Auxiliary in Long Prairie. She liked to keep busy by exercising every morning, bowling, gardening, dancing, and listening to music.

Survivors include her husband, Charlie Cooper of Meire Grove; children, Pam (Mark) Tabara of Moose Lake, Rosanne Duffee of Turtle Lake, Wisconsin, and Tina (Jamie) Fearing-Mehr of Grey Eagle; eight grandchildren and 18 greatgrandchildren with two on the way due in May and July; brothers, Roger (Jan) McIntyre of Long Prairie and Bradley McIntyre of Maple Plain.

Erma was preceded in death by her parents; first husband, Richard Fearing on September 25, 2003; sister, Shirley McIntyre; son-inlaw, Patrick Duffee; and one great-grandson, Cameron Duffee.

Arrangements were made with Patton-Schad Funeral and Cremation Services of Melrose.

Violet V. Hansen

Violet V. (Luepke) Hansen, age 99 of Sauk Centre, formerly of Morgan, passed away, peacefully, surrounded by her family on Monday, April 17, 2023, at the CentraCare Care Center in Sauk Centre, Minnesota. A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, April 21 at Zion Lutheran Church in Sauk Centre with Rev. Marty Porter officiating. Interment will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, April 24 at Bethany Lutheran Cemetery near Morgan, Minnesota.

Visitation will be from 10 to 11 a.m. Friday at the church.

Violet (Luepke) Hansen was born on March 5, 1924 on a farm by Courtland, Minnesota to Herman and Frieda (Rautenberg) Luepke. She was baptized and confirmed at St. Paul Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. She was the fourth of five children. Violet attended the Lutheran school in New Ulm through the eighth grade but had to quit to help on the farm when her mother became ill.

She loved to go to dances and that is where she met her future husband, Leonard Hansen. They married in 1942 and lived on a farm near Morgan, Minnesota. She was a busy farm wife with cooking, gardening, raising a family besides working at various part-time jobs. When her kids were grown, she worked as a receptionist for many years at the Morgan Veterinary office.

Violet and Leonard had three children: Judy, Carol, and Dale. It had always bothered Violet that she hadn’t gone to high school so when her children were all in school, she took a four-year correspondence course – graduating in two years.

After Leonard passed away in 2007, she continued to live and work on the farm until she was 92 years of age. She then moved to a house on the Rainbow Lodge property by Sauk Centre. She loved to help out at the restaurant there until the age of 97 when she moved into the CentraCare Nursing Home.

Survivors include her daughters, Judy (Pete) Panitzke of Sauk Centre and Carol (Ken) Podratz

Mary Gerads

Dennis N. Rykken

Mass of Christian Burial for Mary Gerads, age 98, Albany, will be on Thursday, April 20, 2023 at 11

AM at St. Anthony Catholic Church, St. Anthony. Visitation will be from 9-11 on Thursday at the church. Interment will be at St. Anthony Cemetery, St. Anthony. Mary passed away on April 16, 2023 at Mother of Mercy Nursing Home, Albany. Arrangements by Miller-Carlin Funeral Homes, Albany.

Mary was born in St. Rosa on January 31, 1925, to Gerhard and Wilhelmina (Steinke) Toenies. She married Roman Gerads on April 18, 1944, in St. Rosa. The couple lived and farmed in St. Anthony for 50 + years. Mary was a homemaker most of her life. She was a member of the St. Anthony Catholic Church, Christian Mothers, and Mission Group of St. Anthony.

Mary is survived by her daughter, Denise (Mac) Thrasher of Eagan, MN, 7 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren, and 2 great-greatgrandchildren.

Preceded in death by her parents, Gerhard and Wilhelmina, husband Roman on January 13, 2004, 2 sons, Dennis, and Duane, 1 grandson, Todd, 1 great-granddaughter, Cheyenne, 3 brothers and 5 sisters.

Memorials are preferred to St. Jude’s Research.

Thomas John Enneking

Mass of Christian Burial for Thomas Enneking, age 90, of Albany, will be on Friday, April 21, 2023, at 11 AM at Church of Seven Dolors, Albany. Visitation will be on Thursday from 4-7 PM and one hour prior to Mass, all at the church. Interment St. Benedict’s Cemetery, Avon.

Tom passed away on April 14, 2023, at Mother Mercy Nursing Home, Albany. Arrangements by Miller-Carlin Funeral Homes, Albany.

Thomas John Enneking was born on December 12, 1932, in Melrose to Henry and Rose (Thielen) Enneking. He was the sixth of nine children. After graduating from Melrose High School, Tom farmed with his father for eight years. In 1958, he chose to enter the Crosier Order as a brother. After 20 happy years with the Crosiers and after receiving approval from the Vatican, Tom chose to leave the Order. In March of 1979, Tom met Laurel Schneider. They were married on August 3, 1979. Tom worked for 3M in St. Paul. After their marriage, Tom was transferred to Fremont, Nebraska where Tom worked as a Human Resource Training Coordinator and Production Supervisor. After retiring, Tom and Laurel moved back to Minnesota making their home in Avon. Tom and Laurel cared for Laurel’s sister for many years. Tom was involved in the playing and coaching of many sports, including volleyball, tennis, and football. He also loved doing landscaping and because of this love, he volunteered for 11 years updating records and beautifying the Avon cemetery. He also served as president of St. Benedict’s Church Cemetery Committee in Avon. Throughout his married life with Laurel, Thomas helped care for Anita, Laurel’s sister. He lovingly accepted her as their family. Tom was very active in the Knights of Columbus in Nebraska, while joining as a 3rd degree Knight.

Tom is survived by his loving wife, Laurel and her sister, Anita, sisters, Shirley Nathe, Arlene (Les) Eiden, and sisters-in-law, Jean Enneking and Karen Dolan.

Preceded in death by his parents, Henry and Rose, stepmother, Francis Rehkamp, brothers and sisters, Ervin Enneking, LeRoy (Margaret) Enneking, James (Lila) Enneking, Alma (John) Mergen and Louise (Ken) Wood.

Rick’s Painting

Dennis N. Rykken, age 81 of Sauk Centre, passed away from complications of a stroke on Thursday, April 13, 2023, at the St. Cloud Hospital in St. Cloud, Minnesota. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, April 25 at First Lutheran Church in Sauk Centre with Rev. Rebecca Thomas officiating. Inurnment will be held at a later date.

Visitation will be from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Tuesday prior to the service at First Lutheran Church.

Dennis Neal Rykken was born May 21, 1941, in Willmar, Minnesota to Hartley and Stella (Peterson) Rykken. Dennis was united in marriage to Barbara Lausen on September 1, 1962, in Sacred Heart, Minnesota. He graduated from Augsburg University with a bachelor’s degree in Sociology, minor in Psychology and Economics. He went on to earn his Master of Social Work from the University of Hawaii in 1968. Dennis started his social work career in Mankato before moving to Sauk Centre in 1974 to work at the Minnesota Correctional Facility as a Program Director. Dennis retired from MCFSauk Centre as the Assistant Superintendent when the facility closed. Upon retiring from state service, he continued to work for SEH for 3 years as a business development municipal utilities consultant. Dennis served as a board member for the Minnesota Municipal Utilities Commission for seven years, Sauk Centre Public Utilities Commission for 27 years-16 of those years as the Commission's chair, Sauk Centre City Council for many years and served as Mayor of Sauk Centre on three separate occasions.

Dennis loved traveling, camping and going on cruises with his wife Barb. Anyone that knew "Dennie," knew that he loved visiting and going out for a meal with family. Telling stories and jokes came easy to him.

Survivors include his wife of 60 years, Barbara Rykken of Sauk Centre; children, Maile (Michael) Lambrecht of Sauk Rapids and Jay (Sarah) Rykken of Saint Joseph, grandchildren Jacob, Jadrien, Brennen, Mia and Addison; sisters Donna (Jim) Lessman and Diane Hite.

Dennis was preceded in death by his parents Hartley and Stella Rykken; grandson Alex Rykken.

Arrangements were made with Patton-Schad Funeral and Cremation Services of Sauk Centre.

Accepting Venison Trimmings For Sausage

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Women from St. Joseph Catholic Church gathered for a planning meeting to celebrate the Christian Women’s 100th Anniversary. Join us for mass on May 12 followed by coffee and cake at the church for our celebration. Submitted by Evelyn Budde.

History Story Time in Upsala

By Darlene Maciej

The Upsala Area Historical Society Story Time gathering was the first one which held surprises and was successful. The group meet on March 23 to discuss the history of the Area and Ancestry of participates. The evening was started by a donation of the time capsule from Mt. Olive Evangelical Lutheran Church presented by Merlin Koester. He received the time capsule due to his being the youngest of the congregation. Many interesting paper items were found in the capsule.

After Dan Swanson read an article written about Mrs. Augusta Stenholm at her 90th birthday celebration, the history of Upsala was discussed. The article was found in the 1954 newspaper and mentioned the early years of Upsala, which were the years Mrs. Augusta Stenholm arrived. Also an article about the first doctors in Upsala was read by Darlene Maciej. Mentions of early business was also stated in this article.

A posting was read which came from a individual in Sweden. Ingrid was looking for information on a relative that came to the United States. She stated she would help out with history records from a church in Sweden if we needed information. As Sandy McMillion was explaining the sources to research ancestry, the name of the person whom Ingrid was looking for appear on the screen. Dianne Starika was the first to notice the name. It was a fantastic surprise. Sandy was present to discuss where to look for information by presenting a book in regards to Genealogists and a video of Swede Hallow in St. Paul. Swede Hallow is one of the first places immigrates would start their lives in the new country.

The next get together will be scheduled in May.

Kutter Insurance Agency

Birth Announcement

Taylor Josephine Housman

Chris and Jessica Housman of Melrose are proud to announce the birth of their daughter, Taylor Josephine Housman, born on Thursday, April 13, 2023 at 7:38 a.m. at CentraCare-Melrose Hospital.

Taylor weighed 9 pounds and measured 22 inches long. She has a big brother Brantley, 2 years old at home.

Grandparents are Jan Werner of Sauk Centre, James Housman of Melrose, Keith Mammen of Melrose, and Sandy Mammen of Orlando, FL.

Swanville Junior High Student of the Month

Swanville Schools are pleased to announce their March grades seven through nine Student of the Month as freshman Harlee Schultz. Harlee is the daughter of Josh and Janell Schultz.

Mrs. Liza Hasse, Mathematics teacher, writes, “Harlee works hard in the classroom to always do her best. She takes her time to be sure that she is providing her best work, paying attention to the details along the way. Harlee is honest and trustworthy in her dealings with others. In the classroom, she listens attentively and asks for clarification if needed.

I enjoy having Harlee in class and I appreciate what she has to offer the class.”

Harlee knows that she would like to continue her education after high school but is not sure in what field yet. When not in school Harlee enjoys playing softball and basketball, shopping and hanging with friends. She has been a part of the basketball and softball teams since before sixth grade. She is a former Student of the Month. Her advice for other students is to “work hard and always try your best.” Her best part of the school day is seeing friends. Harlee volunteers outside of school with the Lions Club ditch clean up and helping at the annual Mid-Summer Carnival.

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