Northfield News

Leo Lawlor, 87, of Northfield, Minnesota passed away on Sunday morning, August 7, 2022 at home. Leo Michael Lawlor was born on August 15, 1934, in Ames, IA, to Joseph and Loretto Lawlor. He attended St. Cecelia's School and graduated from Ames High School. He served in the U.S. Army from 1955 to 1957, then graduated from the University of Iowa with a BA in 1959. Leo was introduced to Bernadette Tepesch of Waukon, IA, by his best friend in May 1960, and the couple was married on December 27, 1960. Leo began teaching English and Speech in the Ames Community School district in 1970. He received a master's degree from Iowa State University, and he was promoted to Media Director for the...

Joy Peterson, age 76, passed away at her daughter's home, surrounded by her family and their enduring love, on August 4, 2022. Joy was a fun-loving mom and grandma to her three daughters and grandchildren, and a devoted partner to her husband, Phil. She delighted in babies and children, and she and her family cared for dozens of newborns as a foster family for Lutheran Social Service. As a registered nurse, she worked at hospitals, in long-term care and in triage at Park Nicollet Clinic. Always proud of her Norwegian heritage, Joy passed on family traditions of making lutefisk, lefse, and rommegrot at Christmas. She was an active volunteer, choir member, and Sunday school teacher at their...

Melanie Valencia, age 14 of Northfield, passed away in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Thursday evening, August 4, 2022, from injuries received in an accident in Northfield on Tuesday, August 2, 2022. Melanie was born on March 28, 2008, in Wildomar, California to Alma Rosas. In 2012, she moved with her family to Northfield. She attended Greenvale School and had just completed 8th grade at Northfield Middle School. Melanie loved soccer and was a leader both on and off the field. She brought out the best in others and was loving, kind, courteous, always smiling, encouraging and 100% committed to doing her best. She was a member of St. Dominic Catholic Church. Survivors include her parents,...

Zane Matthew Borchers, age 37, of Dundas, passed away Sunday, July 31, 2022, at his home. Zane was born to Jeffery and Corinne (Thayer) Borchers on July 29, 1985, in Great Falls, MT. He attended Sentinel High School in Missoula and graduated in 2004. After high school, Zane enlisted in the United States Marines and served in the 3d LAAD BN deploying to Okinawa, Japan and Djibouti, Africa. He received the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal and Rifle Sharpshooter Badge. Following active duty, he continued to serve in the Reserves until receiving his honorable discharge in 2011. Zane was united in marriage to...

Well, he did it his way - sort of. Frank Gates, witty, intelligent, charmer of souls, fiercely loved by his family, exited this life on July 30, 2022. He didn't want to go - sort of. Frank liked living life and was curious about what tomorrow would bring. We strongly suspect part of the ultimate winning tug was the outstretched hand of his sweetheart Evelyn cajoling him to hurry along as she had some cool things to show him - probably heaven's best fishing hole. Born on October 30, 1929, in Lakeville, Minnesota, Frankie Dale was the only child of Frank and Lillian Gates. At the young age of 3, the family moved to Northfield where his parents established the famous Gates Cafe on...

Dale Gehring, age 52, passed away unexpectedly at home on Wednesday, July 20, 2022. Dale Bradley Gehring was born October 19, 1969, in Golden Valley, Minnesota, and as an infant was adopted by his parents Virgil and Farolyn (Johnson) Gehring. He was raised in Eagan and graduated from Burnsville High School in 1988. In 1992, he received his bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from Mankato State University, where he was a member of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity and met many life-long friends. For the next few years he worked as a salesman in the various areas of the upper Midwest. In 1996, while living in Minnetonka, Dale met his future wife Angela (Angie) Fratzke of Papillion, NE, while...

Milton "Michael" Burrow, age 83, of Dundas, passed away Monday, July 18, 2022, at Minneapolis VA Health Care. Milton, better known as Michael, was born December 7, 1938, the son of Berryman and Esta (Rummel) Burrow in Phoenix, AZ. He was drafted into the United States Army on November 29, 1960 and served for 3 years during the Vietnam War. He reenlisted for two more years and received his honorable discharge. Following his service, Michael attended trade school in Minneapolis learning to be an electrician. He was united in marriage to Connie Cakebread on April 21, 1968, in Northfield. As a union member, Michael and his family moved throughout including Lindstrom, Minnesota, Idaho,...

Rochelle "Shelly" Donkers, age 84, of Nerstrand, MN, passed away Monday, July 18, 2022, at the Benedictine Living Community in Northfield, MN. Rochelle Diane was born on June 29, 1938, in Faribault, MN, to Edward and Adelaide (Pederson) Bergevin. She graduated from Bethlehem Academy High School with the class of 1956. She worked as a telephone operator for Northwestern Bell in Faribault and later did clerical work for Northwestern Bell in Rochester. Shelly was united in marriage to Wilfred G. Donkers on July 6, 1963, at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Faribault. Wilfred and Shelly had five children: Anne Marie, Steven James, John David, Christopher Todd, and Laura Anne. ...

John "Jim" Trebelhorn, 83, passed away unexpectedly from natural causes on Saturday, July 9, 2022, while taking his motorcycle certification class at Faribault Harley Davidson. John James Trebelhorn Jr. was born May 8, 1939, in Winthrop, MN to John Sr. and Erna (Bauer) Trebelhorn. They moved to Felton, MN when Jim was in 3rd grade where he graduated from Felton High School. He attended the University of Minnesota for one year and then attended McConnell Airline School in Minneapolis. Jim married Sandra "Sandy" Carlson on September 30, 1961. Jim farmed with his dad until he was hired as a ground attendant with Braniff Airlines. Jim started with North Central Airlines as a Pilot in 1966 and...

Cheryl Ann Miller age 76, of Northfield MN passed away Thursday July 7th, 2022. She is preceded in death by her mother Clara Lucille Kron; her father Oliver Oscar Kron; father-in-law Stanley Miller and her mother-in-law Lorraine Miller. Cheryl was a graduate of Northfield Senior High and spent some time studying Art before she married Edward P. Miller on March 10, 1966. The two of them started their lives together at her beloved family home on French Lake in Faribault, MN where they sailed, and water skied during the summer and snowmobiled in the winter. Later the two of them built their first home in Northfield, MN and started a family of two daughters. We will always remember Cheryl...

Josiah R. Schirmer, age 19, of Northfield, passed away Sunday, July 3, 2022, at his home. Josiah was born the son of Karla Schirmer on October 31, 2002, in Bolivar, Missouri. The family moved between Minnesota and Missouri before settling in Northfield when Josiah was fifteen. He attended Arcadia Charter School in Northfield. He worked with his uncle, Joe, at Affordable Floor Cleaning and worked for family at Strohl Construction in Missouri, Protech and Mandarin Gardens both in Northfield, and helped his grandfather, Walter with woodworking. Josiah was a hard worker. He had a heart of gold and always put others first. He was an expert at building campfires, enjoyed fishing, playing video...

Teresa Susan (Teri) Beetch, passed away at the Northfield Hospital on July 3, 2022, after suffering poor health for quite some time. She was 67. Teri was born August 19, 1954, in Northfield, Minnesota, to Don and Marilyn (Menge) McRae. She pursued her interest in art at Stephens College in Columbia, MO, and later married LeRoy Beetch. They had one son, Thomas, and later divorced. Teri was preceded in death by her father Don McRae and her stepfather Paul Raadt. She is survived by her mother, Marilyn McRae Raadt of Northfield; sister, Jodi Matson (Paul) of Mankato; brothers, Scott McRae (Melanie) of Minneapolis and Paul Casey McRae of Zephyrhills, FL; son, Thomas Beetch (Jennifer) of...

Phyllis Jean Wierson passed away suddenly on Sunday evening July 3, 2022, as she was doing what she loved to do, tending her garden. Phyllis was surrounded by her family at her time of death. Phyllis was born January 11, 1929, in Northfield, to Percy & Emily (Christenson) Jack and has resided at the family farm her entire life. She attended Maple Grove Country School for grade 1-8, walking both ways to school. She then attended and graduated from Northfield High school. After graduating she attended Minnesota School of Business taking Secretarial courses and later worked downtown Minneapolis at a beauty products store. On April 30, 1948, she was united in marriage to Bernard...

William Hartley Clark, 92, of Northfield, MN died on Saturday, July 2, 2022 at Northfield Retirement Community. William Hartley Clark was born in Pittsburgh, PA to Rev. Arthur T. Clark and Ruthanna (Anderson) Clark on April 29, 1930. Hartley spent much of his youth in Evanston, IL then graduated from high school in Rock Island, IL. He attended Carleton College, where he met Barbara Rockne. He graduated with a BA in government and international relations in 1952. He and Barbara were married on June 27, 1953. The newlyweds lived in New York City for a year while Hartley completed his doctoral program in International Relations at NYU. They moved to Oxford, OH where Hartley taught at Western...

Ella Halverson, age 98, of Northfield, passed away peacefully Thursday morning, June 30, 2022, at Evergreen Lodge on the Northfield Retirement Community Campus. Eleanor Johanna "Ella" Halverson was born at home in Webster, Minnesota, on September 13, 1923, to Paul and Marie (Oldenberg) Meinke. She attended St. John's School until 8th grade and graduated from New Prague High School in 1941. Following her education, she moved to St. Paul to work for Western Electric. Coming home on weekends, she met the "milkman", Norman Halverson, and they married on September 16, 1950, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Northfield. After marriage they lived in Webster until moving to Northfield in 1955. ...

William Andrew Johnson was born at Asbury Hospital, Minneapolis, MN, on November 29, 1945. He died on June 22, 2022. His parents were William Theodore Johnson and Catherine Frances (Stremel) Johnson. His early years were spent in St. Louis Park and later what was then Minnetonka Mills, MN. He graduated from Hopkins High School with honors in 1963, went on to Michigan State University where he graduated with high honors, then on to Harvard Law School, cum laude 1972. When graduate deferments were discontinued and older young men were being drafted for the war in Vietnam, Bill decided to take a calculated risk and enlist in the US Army before he could be drafted in hopes of avoiding the...

Doug Schetnan, age 78, passed away at home with his wife and family by his side on Wednesday afternoon, June 22, 2022. Douglas Kent Schetnan was born September 26, 1943, in Pierre, South Dakota, to Lewis and Florence (DeWaard) Schetnan. He was raised in Oldham and Brandon, South Dakota, and graduated from Brandon High School in 1961. He attended Augustana College for 2 years and received his BA in Music from Dakota State College in Madison, SD. On June 17, 1967, Doug married Barbara Jean Tastad at the Lutheran Church in Mt. Vernon, South Dakota. Doug taught school in Ida Grove, Iowa, Morris, MN, and Long Prairie, MN. In 1980, they moved to Northfield and Doug began working for the...

Norma Bickel, age 99, of Northfield, died Monday, June 20, 2022, at her home. Norma was born the daughter of Carl and Catherine (Sorensen) Miller on May 18, 1923, on the family farm near Elko. She attended Eidswold country school through the eighth grade and then boarded in Northfield which allowed her to attend school in Northfield. In her junior year of school busses became available and she completed high school in Lakeville graduating in 1940. Norma first worked as a caretaker for a college professor whose wife required in-house care. She then began working as a bookkeeper for the Ben Franklin store in Northfield, Norma was united in marriage to Donald Bickel on June 20, 1948, in...