Obituaries

Shirley Deatsch, 72, of Spring Valley

Published by lniemeyer@bluff... on Mon, 12/31/2018 - 10:23am

Shirley L. Deatsch, 72, of Spring Valley, died peacefully of the rare disease calciphylaxis, on Thursday, Dec. 20, 2018, at Saint Marys Hospital in Rochester, surrounded by family.

She was born on Oct. 23, 1946, in Creston, Iowa, to Mabel and Wendell Mathes.

She attended grade school in Arispe, Iowa. She then moved to Murray, Iowa, in 1955 where she graduated from Murray High School in 1965. She attended Creston Community College for two years and transferred to Northwest Missouri State where she graduated in 1969 with an English degree.

Lois Schwinefus, 96, of Spring Valley

Published by lniemeyer@bluff... on Thu, 12/27/2018 - 10:45am

Lois Schwinefus, 96, of Spring Valley, formerly of Ostrander and Albert Lea, died on Monday, Dec. 17, 2018.

She was born in Albert Lea to Bernard and Doris (Cooper) Pleiss on Oct. 27, 1922.

She graduated from Albert Lea High School in 1939.

She married William Taylor on Oct. 26, 1941. They had one daughter, Katherine, in 1944. The couple later divorced.

Kevin Schmidt, 54, of Spring Valley

Published by lniemeyer@bluff... on Thu, 12/27/2018 - 10:44am

Kevin Jon Schmidt, 54, of Spring Valley, died on Monday, Dec. 17, 2018, following a long, courageous battle with cancer, at Mayo Clinic Hospital Saint Marys Campus in Rochester.

He was born on Nov. 30, 1964, in Farmington, to Danford and Arlene (Zumach) Schmidt.

He attended and graduated from Kenyon High School in 1983.

He was united in marriage to Shawn Jeffries on Oct. 28, 1989, in Waterloo, Iowa.

Maggie Gragert

Published by lniemeyer@bluff... on Tue, 12/18/2018 - 11:06am

Maggie Gray Walton Ricabaugh Miller Gragert, 102, of Spring Valley, died on Sunday, Dec. 16, 2018, at Pine Haven Community Nursing Home in Pine Island.

She was born on June 28, 1916, in Sandwich, Saskatchewan, Canada, to Cecil and Maggie (Gray) Walton, the fourth of nine children.

She was a resident of Spring Valley from 1946 until she entered the Pine Haven Community nursing home in October of 2018.

Sean Chvatal, 50, formerly of Spring Valley

Published by lniemeyer@bluff... on Tue, 12/18/2018 - 11:04am

Sean Michael Chvatal, 50, of Kasson and formerly of Spring Valley, died on Monday, Dec. 10, 2018, from an undiagnosed heart condition at his home.

He was born on May 4, 1968, in Cresco, Iowa.

He graduated from Spring Valley High School in 1986.

The last few years of school he worked as a baker at Spring Valley Bakery under owner Pete Haack. This is where his love for baking began. He went on to bake at Barlow’s for several years and many other bakeries throughout Rochester.

Amara Schoonover, 6 weeks, granddaughter of Spring Valley residents

Published by lniemeyer@bluff... on Tue, 12/18/2018 - 11:03am

Amara Jo Schoonover, 6 weeks, died peacefully on Sunday, Dec. 9, 2018, at home.

She was born on Oct. 30, 2018, in Rochester, daughter of Nicole Stevenson and Montanna Schoonover of Plainview.

Wayne Freiheit, 82, once of Wykoff

Published by lniemeyer@bluff... on Thu, 12/13/2018 - 2:14pm

Wayne Julius Freiheit, 82, of Stewartville, died on Sunday, Dec. 9, 2018, following a long journey with prostate cancer, at Mayo Clinic – Rochester.

He was born on Aug. 13, 1936, in Wykoff, the first child to Earl and Thelma (Finch) Freiheit.

He grew up on the family farm.

He attended Wykoff schools where he played basketball, football and band until he graduated from Wykoff High School in 1954.

Lori Rubenzer, 58, of Spring Valley

Published by lniemeyer@bluff... on Thu, 12/13/2018 - 2:12pm

Lori Peterson Rubenzer, 58, of rural Spring Valley, died on Monday, Nov. 26, 2018, at her home, following a tenacious, 16-year battle with lung cancer, surrounded by her close family.

She was born in Rochester on Sept. 10, 1960, to Robert and Carol Peterson of Racine.

She attended grade school in Racine and graduated from Stewartville High School in 1978. She attended the Cosmetology Training Center in Rochester in 1979, graduated, received her license and then completed her instructor training.

Shirley Miller, 83, of Ostrander

Published by lniemeyer@bluff... on Thu, 12/13/2018 - 2:04pm

Shirley Ann Miller of Ostrander, a bank employee, dairy farmer, medical secretary and mother, died Sunday, Dec. 9, 2018, at the age of 83 in Rochester.

Shirley Ann Miller was born Aug. 7, 1935, in Ostrander and graduated as valedictorian from Spring Valley High School in 1953.

Michael Hilger, 48, of Stewartville

Published by lniemeyer@bluff... on Thu, 12/13/2018 - 2:01pm

Michael Eugene Hilger, 48, of Stewartville, died on Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018, unexpectedly of natural causes in Stewartville.

He was born on March 4, 1970, in Sheboygen, Wis., to Thomas and Karen (Dotzert) Hilger.

He moved often as a child and young boy when his father began his ministry as a Lutheran pastor.

The family moved to Hays, Kan., where he attended Hays High School graduating in 1988. He then attended Ft. Hays State University and later Central Bible College in Springfield, Mo.

He was married on June 24, 1989, in Hays, Kan., to Crystal R. Bangle.