FEBRUARY 26, 2015
KANABEC COUNTY TIMES
13
www.moraminn.com
OBITUARIES
Immogene M. Palermo
Lerain V. Fix
Immogene “Jeanne” Madeline Palermo of Amarillo, Texas, formerly of Mora died peacefully on Sunday, Feb. 15, 2015 at the home of her son David. She was 97 years old. She was born on Nov. 9, 1917 at her parents’ home in Mora. She was the youngest of three daughters of Victor and Carrie Skogman. She was a daddy’s girl and loved tto spend hours with him on the family farm. Growing up o on a farm gave her a love of the outdoors. She attended Mora High School, graduating in 1935. A After high school she worked in a variety of secretarial p positions and during the war she was the chief clerk in tthe local selective service office. She was very close to her sisters, Marie and Margaret. T The three girls along with their parents attended church rregularly and in September 1940 she was baptized and b became a member of the Baptist church. She was faithfful in using her musical talents there and often sang in d duets and trios. While attending gospel meetings in 1941, she met one of tthe evangelists, Louis Palermo. They corresponded regu ularly and the group came back to Mora on several occasions to hold meetings. This friendship developed into romance and on Aug. 18, 1943 they were united in marriage. By that time, Louis’ brother Phil had also married (Edie) and this was the beginning of the Palermo Four. They traveled around the country holding evangelistic meetings. In 1945 the family expanded with the arrival of their son, David. Dan came along in 1948, Dianne 1953, Douglas 1955 and Dean in 1957. The family lived with Jeanne’s sister Marie in a house outside of Mora. She still traveled occasionally with the Palermo Brothers but she was mostly a stay-at-home mom. Without a doubt, being a mother was her true calling. You could not ask for a more loving caring person to be your mom. She was happiest making her home a warm, loving refuge for the whole family. We all remember the mouth-watering aroma of Sunday dinner when we arrived home from church. She was also a great friend. If someone needed help or just a call to cheer them up, you knew you could count on her to be there. In 1988 she and her husband and sister Marie moved to Minnetonka. Her husband started a new ministry in the Cities volunteering at local hospitals where he sang for the patients. Mom’s new role was to drive him each day back and forth to different hospitals around the Twin Cities. When her husband of 59 years passed away in 2002, she and her sister carried on in the Cities until 2006 when they moved to the former Grandview (now Grace Pointe) complex in Cambridge. Her sister was in a different part of the facility at River Hills – it was the first time they had lived apart in decades. Jeanne was in the apartments at Mill Ridge and again developed many new friendships. Her eyesight began to fail and she developed macular degeneration. This was very frustrating for someone who liked to read her Bible. Nevertheless, she carried on and adapted. We believe that because of her eyesight problems, her memory stayed sharp because she had to work overtime to recall faces and phone numbers. As she began the inevitable slow-down in her later years, she had to move to facilities that could provide more care. The last place she was at was Waverly Gardens, an excellent facility. In October 2013 the family moved her to Texas to live with her oldest son. It was a great privilege for David, Donna and Elizabeth to take care of her and to once again experience the love and joy that surrounded her every day. She never wanted to be a bother to her children and expressed that sentiment several times – like she could ever be a bother to someone – ridiculous. Jeanne was active and alert for all but the last few weeks. We are thankful for the excellent help we received from Hospice Care of the Southwest - they are all angels. She is now at home in heaven where she belongs, no more eyesight problems, no more difficulty in getting around, no more aches and pains from arthritis, only joy, happiness and being blessed by the presence of her Savior. She was preceded in death by husband, Louis; parents, Victor and Carrie Skogman; sisters and their husbands, Marie (Ted) Salmonson and Margaret (George Sr.) Solmonson and son-in-law, Dr. Richard Jensen. She is survived by sons, David (Donna) of Amarillo, Texas and their children, Sam and Elizabeth, Dan (Laurie) of Blaine and their children, Jeffrey and Jackie, Douglas of Torrance, Calif. and his daughter Michele, Dean (Sara) of Ramsey and their children Paul (and his daughter Alivya – Jeanne’s only great-grandchild), David, and Chantelle; daughter, Dianne Jensen of Atherton, Calif. and her children Jeanne, Forrest and Katie and numerous nieces and nephews and their children as is befitting someone who lived for nearly a century. A memorial service will be held on Monday, March 2, 2015 at 11 a.m. at the Emmanuel Baptist Church of Mora. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service on Monday at the church. Memorials may be made IN HONOR OF JEANNE PALERMO to Youth Haven (www.youthhaven.org) and Children’s Shelter of Cebu (www.cscshelter.org). To view and sign the guest book visit: http://www.aifuneralhome.com/category/ mora-obituaries.
Lerain Viola (Gray) Fix died peacefully with her family by her side on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015 at Elderwood of Hinckley. She was 83 years old. She was born Nov. 12, 1931 in Sturgeon Lake to Clifford and Emma (Hanson) Gray. She was the third of eight children. Her family moved to Braham when she was 4 years old. She attended Clint Grade School and Braham High School. In 1948 she moved to St. P Paul and worked at Children’s Hospital. She met John Alois Fix in June of 1948 at a barn dance. T They were united in marriage on Jan. 8, 1949 at St. Patrrick’s Church in Hinckley. They had 10 children. In 1962 tthey moved to Braham where they farmed for 19 years. She worked as a waitress for several restaurants d during that time. In 1981 they moved back to Hinckley. S She then began working for Daggett’s SuperValu until sshe retired 11 years later. She grew up in the Methodist Church and converted tto Catholicism shortly before she was married. Her faith llife was beyond meaningful. She served as the church c chairperson for the chicken dinner for 20 years, was a m member of St. Catherine’s Circle and taught religion c classes at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church. Prior to that she was a member of Christian Mothers/ W Women at Christ the King Catholic Church in Camb bridge. She served Meals on Wheels with her husband for 117 years. She was a longtime member of Braham Moose L Lodge and served in all capacities including Sr. Regent. She and her husband were highly involved with their ffamily, friends and community. Her children remember h how she loved to entertain and teach. It didn’t matter if sshe was milking cows, canning, baking, quilting, gard dening or helping at church – the family was enjoying llife as the gift it was meant to be. They also joke about h how she relived 10th grade in its entirety with each of h her sons. She attended as many of her grandchildren’s and great-grandchildren’s activities as possible. She and her husband rarely missed a Sunday breakfast at Cassidy’s, Tuesday morning breakfast at Jan & Gary’s in Sandstone and cards in the afternoon with Joe and Sharon, Friday hair appointments or a Saturday evening mass. She was an incredibly active and devoted wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend. She was preceded in death by parents, Emma and Clifford Gray; sons, Clifford and Rudolph; daughter, Diana; brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, Stan Walberg, Archie Johnson, Katherine Engels-Schmidt (Charles Engels and Mel Schmidt), William (Frances) Fix, Helen Fix, Regina Helmbrecht, Elmer Klar, Richard Dicks, Jim Davis and Ruth Gray. She is survived by her loving husband of 66 years, John A. Fix; children, Kathy (Don) Fiedler, Richard (Claire) Fix, Don (Geneva) Fix, Joyce (Mark) Sawatzky, Lee (Julaine) Fix, Vern (Lynn) Fix and Dixie (Troy) Libra; 22 grandchildren; 49 great-grandchildren; siblings, Willis Gray, Evelyn Walberg, Doran (Shirley) Gray, Betty (Doug) Boquist, Bob (Diane) Gray, Delores Johnson, Ellie (Carlie) Grell; brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, Raymond Fix, Andy Helmbrecht, Mary Klar-Davis, Josephine (Lee) Knudson, Margaret (John) Plasek, Joe (Sharon) Fix and Dorothy (Milo) Vavra and many loving nieces, nephews, relatives and friends. A Mass of Christian Burial was held Tuesday, Feb. 24 at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, 203 Lawler Ave. S., Hinckley. Fr. Joseph A. Sirba officiated the service. Pallbearers for her service were Bronson Fix, Andrew Fix, Matthew Sawatzky, Joshua Fix, Karl Fix and Zachary Libra. Burial at Rose Hill Cemetery in Hinckley. www.GearhartFuneralHome.com.
Lillian R. Kafka
Lillian “Lil” R. Kafka of New Prague, died Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015, at North Memorial Hospital in Robbinsdale surrounded by her family. She was 91 years old. She was born Jan. 28, 1924 in Spillville, Iowa to Charles and Ludmilla (Brom) Kovarik. She attended St. Wenceslaus Catholic School in Spillville, Calmar High School in Calmar, Iowa and Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She taught in a one-room schoolhouse in Iowa and was united in marriage to Robert V. Kafka in Spillville on Aug. 5, 1946. The couple lived in St. Clair and then moved to New Prague. They moved to Milaca in 1970 and after her husband’s death, she moved back to New Prague. At that time, she worked at McMahon Drug Store for about nine years before retiring. She was a member of St. Wenceslaus CCW and active in many of the church groups and activities. She was also a member of Queen of Peace Hospital Auxiliary and many bridge clubs. She enjoyed sewing, embroidery, and crossword puzzles and was an avid reader. She dearly loved her family and will be sadly missed by all who were touched by her. She was preceded in death by husband, Robert Kafka on October 6, 1979; parents; sisters, Helen Melsh, Dorothy Meyer and Celia. She is survived by children, Nancy (Marty) Simon of New Prague, Dr. Tom (Arla) Kafka of Cresco, Iowa, Peg (Steve) Paulson of Mora, Barbara Kafka of Check, Va., Julie (Nathan) Nistler of Maple Grove; brother, Victor Kovarik of Spillville, Iowa; 10 grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren. Memorial Mass of Christian Burial was held Monday, Feb. 23, 2015 at St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church in New Prague with Father Kevin Clinton officiating. Burial at St. Wenceslaus Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to American Heart Association and Habitat for Humanity. www.bruzekfuneralhome.com. SEE OBITUARIES PAGE 14
Kanabec County Times 320-679-2661