Obituaries

Garaine Wildgrube, 90, of Preston

Published by lniemeyer@bluff... on Tue, 10/16/2018 - 3:44pm

Garaine “Gary” Wildgrube, 90, of Preston, died peacefully on Monday afternoon, Oct. 1, 2018, at the Meadows on Fairview Assisted Living in Wyoming, Minn., surrounded by family.

She was born on April 17, 1928, to Andrew “Andy” and Erma (Petersson) Chilson.

She was a member of Christ Lutheran Church of Preston, a florist by trade and helped with the family restaurant, The White Gate Cafe. She was active in her community and dedicated to her family and friends. She enjoyed gardening, cooking, crafting and playing the piano and organ.

Carmen Bellingham, 87, of Preston

Published by lniemeyer@bluff... on Tue, 10/16/2018 - 3:43pm

Doris Carmen Bellingham, 87, of Preston, died on Saturday, Oct. 13, 2018, at the Gundersen Harmony Care Center in Harmony.

She was born on Nov. 1, 1930, in Hutton, Minn., the daughter of Marvin and Tressie (Alfson) Elton.

She was baptized and confirmed at Greenfield Lutheran Church in Harmony.

She was a member of her high school choir and excelled in speech, graduating in 1948 from Harmony High School.

Kenneth Rose, 87, formerly of Lanesboro

Published by lniemeyer@bluff... on Fri, 10/12/2018 - 9:20am

Kenneth Roger Rose, 87, of Fergus Falls, Minn., died peacefully on Oct. 3, 2018, surrounded by family. 

Ken was born on Aug. 15, 1931, in Lanesboro to Alvin and Josie (Langord) Rose and raised on a farm in Highland. After graduating from Lanesboro High School, he received his B.S. in agriculture economics from the University of Minnesota in 1954. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1951 to 1956 and later completed graduate work at the University of Minnesota and Colorado State University.  

Wayne Stensgard, 78, of Harmony

Published by lniemeyer@bluff... on Thu, 10/04/2018 - 11:03am

Wayne Stensgard, 78, of Harmony, died Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2018.

He was born on Feb. 22, 1940, near Choice in Fillmore County to Elmer and Stella (Hoff) Stensgard.

He attended country and Rushford Schools and from there attended and graduated from Peterson High School in 1958.

On April 11, 1959, he married Marian Thoreson at the Arendahl Lutheran Church.

Services set for Maurice Lynn Kerns, 78, of Mabel

Published by lniemeyer@bluff... on Thu, 10/04/2018 - 11:02am

There will be a memorial service for Maurice Lynn Kerns of rural Mabel, at the Burr Oak Methodist Church on Sunday, Oct. 7, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., with a prayer service at 3:00.

Kerns, a longtime rural Mabel resident and local businessman, died Thursday, Aug 9, at the age of 78, at the New Hampton, Iowa, Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.

He was born Feb. 20, 1940, to Richard and Doris (Booth) Kerns, the oldest of three children.

Following his graduation, he married Diana Dotzenrod, during which time they had three sons. They were later divorced.

Gregory Anderson, 65, once of Fillmore County

Published by lniemeyer@bluff... on Thu, 10/04/2018 - 11:00am

Gregory (Greg) Dean Anderson, 65, of Burnsville, died on Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2018, at Fairview University Hospital from complications due to a stroke following his recent heart surgery. He was surrounded by his children and went peacefully.

He was born in Fillmore County on June 22, 1953, to Amos and Helen (Tolrud) Anderson.

He was proud to be a funeral director for the majority of his working career and found satisfaction helping families, which was well known as one of his innate qualities.

Allan Austin, 82, formerly of Spring Valley

Published by lniemeyer@bluff... on Tue, 10/02/2018 - 4:30pm

Allan Duane Austin, 82, formerly of Spring Valley and Harmony, died on Sunday, Sept. 30, 2018, at Samaritan Bethany in Rochester. 

He was born on July 1, 1936, in Canton to Oscar G. and Helma J. (Gulbranson) Austin.

He attended and graduated from Canton High School in 1954. Following high school he attended Winona State University and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1958.

On Oct. 15, 1966, he was united in marriage to Marcia Raye Hammes in Spring Valley.

John Klimesh, 82, of Decorah

Published by lniemeyer@bluff... on Thu, 09/27/2018 - 8:19am

John A. Klimesh, 82, died peacefully on Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018, at his home in Decorah, Iowa, with his family by his side.

He was born on March 11, 1936, in Spillville, Iowa to Alvin and Sidonia Klimesh.

He graduated from the Shellrock High School in 1953.

Soon after graduating, he joined the United States Navy and proudly served for a short time before being medically discharged.

Jean Houdek, 91, formerly of Harmony

Published by lniemeyer@bluff... on Thu, 09/27/2018 - 8:16am

Jean Carol (Lubbers) Houdek, 91, of Lakeville, formerly of Harmony, died on Sept. 17, 2018, after a short hospitalization.

After high school graduation from Lime Springs, Iowa, she worked at Mayo Clinic in Rochester.

She married her high school sweetheart, Les, at the end of World War II.

She spent her life raising four children and supporting her husband as she created a warm, loving home for her family.

Luana Bernau, 95, of Preston

Published by lniemeyer@bluff... on Thu, 09/27/2018 - 8:13am

Luana Marie Bernau, 95, of Preston, died on Friday, Sept. 21, 2018, at Seasons Hospice House in Rochester, where she had been a resident since Sept. 13.

She was born on March 20, 1923, in Whittemore, Iowa, to William F. and Anna Drewes Dau.

She was baptized on April 15, 1923, and confirmed on April 4, 1937, at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Whittemore, Iowa.

She attended St. Paul’s Lutheran School through eighth grade and placed first in the Kossuth County eighth grade examinations. She could still recite poems she learned in school 90 years ago.