Owatonna People's Press

Craig L. Duryee, 76, of Owatonna, passed away on Thursday, January 26, 2023 at United Hospital in St. Paul. He was born to Kenneth and Opal (Decker) Duryee on December 12th, 1946, in Riceville, Iowa. Craig Graduated from Mound High School as a member of the 1965 class. He would be united in Marriage to Karen Anderson on June 10, 1967, and the couple was blessed with two boys. Craig worked for Lindsey Brothers as a buyer and would work on the weekends as a fiberglass repairman. Craig loved spending time outdoors, fishing, yard work, tending to his garden, and watering all his flowers. He also liked to collect cars from his 1957 Thunderbird to his 2008 Mustang. Craig would be remembered as...

Marian Hofdahl, 89 of Owatonna died January 23, 2023 at Birchwood Cottages in Owatonna. Full obituary at www.michaelsonfuneral.com

Michelle Cathrine Chapman died Friday, January 20 th , 2023 at Homestead Hospice House in Owatonna, MN. Michelle was born in Cavalier, North Dakota on May 30, 1952 to Ralph & Beverly (Burt) Page. She graduated from Owatonna High School in 1970, and Patricia Stevens School of Fashion Merchandising in 1971. She was employed at Page Fabrics and Owatonna Manufacturing Company before settling in at Jostens in the Customer Service Department where she was employed for 27 years. She was married to Arthur Coates in 1972, they had one son, Christopher Coates. They were later divorced. She married Richard (Rick) Chapman in 1989 and enjoyed more than 20 years of marriage until his passing...

Thomas John Heisler, 62, of Owatonna, passed away on Sunday, January 15, 2023 at his home. He is survived by his children Anna (and James) Wagoner of Faribault, Nicholas Heisler of Minnetonka, Margaret Heisler of Owatonna; siblings, Robert (and Teri) Heisler of Mission Viejo, CA, Patricia (and Mark) Azman of Saint Paul, David (and Molly) Heisler of Woodbury; many nieces and nephews and a great-niece. He was preceded in death by his parents. Funeral services will be held on Monday, January 23, 2023 at 11AM at St. Joseph Catholic Church with a visitation starting one hour prior to the service. Interment will be in the St. Boniface Cemetery in Hastings. Full obituary can be read at...

Jacqueline "Jackie" Winzenburg, 75, of Owatonna, died Thursday, January 12, 2023 at Abbott Northwestern in Minneapolis. She was born March 23, 1947 in Owatonna, Minnesota the daughter of James and Evelyn (Ribbe) Karaus. She grew up on a farm by Hope and graduated from Ellendale High School in 1965. On February 5, 1966, she married Edward "Eddie" Winzenburg at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Meriden. The couple lived in Ellendale, Owatonna, Hope and eventually settled back in Owatonna. Jackie was a homemaker and worked part-time at OTC. She was a member of St. John Lutheran Church in Owatonna and was active in the Hospital Auxiliary. She loved and adored her grandchildren. She kept...

Kathleen Claire (Evans) Staska, 92, of Owatonna, passed away on Friday, January 6, 2023 at her home surround by family. She was born January 4, 1931 in Owatonna, Minnesota the daughter of Robert and Julia (Clark) Evans. On March 24, 1951 she married Berlyn W. Staska of Owatonna, at the Associated Church in Owatonna. Kathleen attended Owatonna High School and graduated in 1949. After graduation she attended Mankato Teachers College for two years. Kathleen was a life member of the Associated Church and had served on many church committee's over the years. She had spent over 4,000 hours with a support group called Contact. She also served as an advocate for battered women and help to...

Theona Mae (Thoreson) Lewison, 79, of rural Owatonna, MN passed away at her home Friday evening January 6, 2023. Theona was the daughter of Adolph and Margarethe Thoreson. She was born July 21, 1943 in Faribault, MN. Theona grew up in rural Wanamingo. She graduated from Wanamingo High School in 1961. She attended Nursing School in the Twin Cities. Not long after, she met the love of her life, William Lewison, in Rochester. They were married September 21, 1963 at Wanamingo Lutheran Church. Together, they had five children. She was a stay at home mom raising her children. Later, she was employed at Truth Hardware in the shipping department for many years. She was an active adult leader for 4H,...

Fred Ulrich, 89, of Owatonna, died Friday, January 6, 2023 at Traditions II of Owatonna. He was born December 2, 1933 in Emmetsburg, Iowa the son of Emil, Sr. and Lena (Dobberstein) Ulrich. He grew up on a farm near Merton Township Hall and attended school through the seventh grade. He was united in marriage to Helen Louise Hortop on September 14, 1957, at the Methodist Church in Owatonna. The couple made their home in Owatonna. Fred worked at DeRose Manufacturing, Owatonna Siding & Insulation and as a custodian at Redeemer Lutheran Church, Eagles Club, Heritage Halls, and Cabela's. He served as president of the Eagles Club, was Eagle of Year and would have received his 55 year Eagle...

LaVonne "Bonnie" Walker, 87, of Owatonna, died Tuesday, January 3rd at the Owatonna Hospital with her son, Darrin, by her side. She was born in Faribault, Minnesota, on April 25th, 1935, the daughter of Lewis B. Smith, Sr. and Mildred M. (Kniefel) Smith. She grew up in Faribault and later graduated from Medford High School in 1953. She was active in drama, glee club and band. She played the violin and clarinet and later taught herself how to play the organ. She excelled in high school and was named class valedictorian. She received a scholarship to attend any of the private universities or colleges in Minnesota but was unable to take attend college. After high school, she worked as a...

Shawn T. Lewis, 57, from Kasson passed away peacefully at his home after a two-and-a-half-year battle with cancer. He was surrounded by his loving family. He was born on July 23rd, 1965, in Cresco, IA. Shawn was the eldest son of Elgin Jr. and Connie Lewis. He graduated as valedictorian from Leonard High-School (Leonard, Texas) in 1983 and earned his accounting degree from East Texas State University in 1987. Shawn returned to the Midwest and married Christy Eischens in 1990. To this union with his former spouse, three daughters were born: Laney, Jacie, and Brooklyn. Shawn was an incredibly proud father. He met his forever partner Julie in 2013. They married in 2017. To this union a...

Nancy Ann Stitz (Johnson), 70, of Owatonna, passed away on Saturday, December 31, 2022 at United Hospital. She was born September 18, 1952 in Albert Lea, to Carlyle and Grace Johnson. She graduated from Ellendale High School in 1970, and then went to get her accounting degree. She worked at Owatonna Tool Company and Power Team before attending Nursing school. She got her RN in 2003 and was placed in the Med Surg at the Owatonna Hospital where Nancy would work until she retired. She married LeRoy Stitz on June 7th, 1980 at Freeborn Lutheran Church. They were blessed with 2 children Megan and Matthew. Nancy enjoyed cross-stitching, sudoku puzzles, and spending time with her grandchildren....

Norman D. Dinse, age 90, died on December 31, 2022, at Lakeshore Rehabilitation Center in Waseca. Norman Dale Dinse, the son of Carl and Esther (Bethke) Dinse, was born on August 5, 1932, in Waseca County. He was baptized in Trinity Lutheran Church in Wilton Township and confirmed in St. John's Lutheran Church in Waseca. Norman attended country grade school and graduated from Waseca Central High School in 1951. He entered the U.S Army in February 1953, and took basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, MO. He served 18 months in Germany in a Combat Engineering Battalion. He then returned home in 1955, and worked at several different places for 2 years. Norman then worked at Sampson's...

Margaret Ann (Ahrens) Ellingson died December 30th, 2022 at Benedictine Living Community in Northfield, Minnesota, surrounded by family, following a courageous battle with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy. She was 84. Margaret was born on March 19th, 1938, to Harold and Ruth (Tellin) Ahrens in Washington, Iowa, in the family home on West Madison Street. The Ahrens family soon moved to a farm just north of town where her parents raised three children and built a life together. She attended country school through second grade before going to school in town. Washington High School's Homecoming Queen moved to Cedar Falls in the fall of 1956 and earned her two-year teaching degree at Iowa State...

of Big Lake, Mn. passed away at Guardian Angels/Triniti Hospice in Elk River, Mn. on Dec. 30th. He was born in Guatemala City, Guatemalan on August 18, 1927, he came to the United States at 19 to continue his education. He graduated from Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa. He married Rosemary McElmuay of Sioux City in 1954. They had three children - J. Roberto, Melisa (Mike) and Richard (Kristina), and four grandchildren - Maggie, Louis, Elena and Nicolas. Bob's entire professional career was in international sales, ending at Owatonna Tool Company with 27 years of service as Director of International Sales. During those years he established distributorships...

Betty Lou Krause, lifelong resident of Steele County, entered fully into the presence of the Lord on Wednesday, December 29, 2022 at Timberdale Trace in Owatonna. She was 94. Betty Mussman, the daughter of George and Margaret (Dunker) Mussman, was born on April 23, 1928, in Claremont, Minnesota. She graduated in 1946. She was united in marriage to Donald (Bing) Krause in 1948 and they made their home in Owatonna. She cherished her family and spending time with them. Betty was a member of the Elks, American Legion, VFW and Woman's Auxillary. She volunteered at Owatonna Hospital, Meals on Wheels, VFW for Bingo and weddings. She worked at Red Cross and gave blood for many years. ...

Hilding, L. Johnson, age 95, of rural Owatonna, died on Wednesday, December 28, 2022, at the New Richland Care Center. Hilding Lowell Johnson, the son of Harvey and Alice (Tollefson) Johnson was born in Lemond Township on October 19, 1927. He attended rural school district #35 thru the eighth grade and then Went to Owatonna High School, graduating in 1945. He played drums in the high school band for three years. After school he joined the US Navy and served from 1945 until 1948 and was then in the reserves. He was called back into service from February of 1951 until July of 1953. Hilding married Joyce Spatenka on April 16, 1951 in Washington D.C. Together they had 5 children: twins...

Angie M. Probst, age 38 of Owatonna, died on Tuesday, December 27, 2022, at her home. Angie Michelle Probst, the daughter of Mark Abrahamson and Connie Huus, was born on February 3, 1984, in Minneapolis. She grew up in Owatonna and received her education there. Following school she worked at various retail stores before going to work for public health as a home maker and client advocate 17 years ago. She went above and beyond for her clients, treating them as family. She loved animals, especially her pets. She enjoyed music, singing, yard work and flower gardening. Angie loved host parties and bake, especially pumpkin pie. She took many photos and was meticulous in her cleaning. ...

Gwen E. Steige, 85, a longtime Rochester, MN resident and retired Registered Nurse, died Tuesday December 27, 2022, at Rochester East Health Services following a lengthy battle with dementia. Gwen was born December 21, 1937, in Owatonna, MN the daughter of Floyd and Fern Behsman. She graduated from Owatonna High School in 1956 and attended Rochester's Methodist-Kahler School of Nursing, graduating as a Registered Nurse in 1959. She practiced nursing in Colorado where she met her husband, Harold Steige. The two were married on June 3, 1961, in Greeley, CO. The couple moved to Rochester, MN in 1962 where she continued her nursing career working at St. Mary's Hospital, Methodist Hospital,...

Frederick Charles Urch, 58, of Owatonna, passed away on Sunday, December 25, 2022. He was born on June 6, 1964, to loving parents Harvey and Evelyn (French) Urch. He joined brother Lowell and sisters Carol, Vicki, Barb, and Becky. Fred graduated with the West Concord Cardinals Class of 1982. He attended Oak Hills Bible College and graduated from Winona State University. In the summers, he enjoyed working at Camp Courage and Camp Lebanon. Fred had long tenures at Wenger Corporation and Central Farm Service, where he took great joy in motivating and encouraging his team. Fred was united in marriage to Mary (McIver) Urch on June 16, 1990. Together, they raised their son Ted and daughter Tori....

Faye A. Jirele, 88, of Owatonna died Sunday, December 25, 2022, at Mitchell County Regional Health Center in Osage, Iowa. Born Faye Ann Boyett on March 31st 1934, in Mason City, IA to Heber and Zelda Boyett. She had one sibling, her brother Jerry Boyett. She graduated from Owatonna High School in 1952 and soon after married her first husband. A marriage that ended in a tragic death of her husband from a car accident while living in Indianapolis, IN. She moved back to Minnesota and went to work for Federated Insurance in Minneapolis. Not long after she met George Henry Humbert from St. Cloud, at his Minneapolis establishment, the Shamrock. Faye and George hit it off and were married in May...