Kenyon Leader

Timothy Robert Otto, age 54, passed away Sunday, March 19th at Mayo Hospital after a 2 1/2 year courageous and hard-fought battle against colon cancer. Born February 14, 1969 to his parents, Bill and Bonnie (Grendahl) Otto in Zumbrota, MN. He was Baptized at Lands Lutheran Church and was raised in Kenyon, MN. Tim was a Cub Scout and Boy Scout where he achieved the Order of the Arrow. He was Confirmed at First Lutheran Church. He attended Kenyon High School where he participated in band and golf (along with many skip days spent going to Burnsville to buy concert tickets). He graduated with the Class of 1987. Shortly after graduation, he enlisted in the Army where he was stationed in...

Clifford Melroy Nelson, 84, of Owatonna and long-time resident of rural Cannon Falls, passed away on Saturday, March 18th at St. Mary's Hospital in Rochester, Minnesota after a short illness. Clifford was born in Leon Township, Minnesota on January 5, 1939, to Joseph and Randie (Ohnstad) Nelson. One of 6 children, Clifford grew up working on the farm, and attended school in Wanamingo. Clifford met Ruthann through mutual friends in high school and later again while Ruthann was in nursing school. They were married on September 10, 1960, at Wangen Prairie Lutheran Church and lived in Leon Township for over 61 years. Here they would build a home, and raise their 3 children, Gene, Brian, and...

Harlan T. Rosvold, 98, of Oak Park Heights, MN died at home on March 7, 2023. Harlan (aka Holly) was born March 6, 1925 at the Northfield Hospital while his parents, Emil and Eva (Haugen) Rosvold, were residents of Dennison, MN. He attended school in Hatton, ND and graduated from Kenyon High School, Kenyon, MN. In 1947, he married Joyce Dalbotten and they began raising their 6 children in Kenyon. In 1959, he moved the family to Mendota Heights, MN, when he began working for Cenex in the Construction and Engineering Department. Harlan enjoyed being involved in his children's activities. He coached some of their sports. Harlan was a proud WWII Marine Corps veteran serving in Saipan,...

Al passed away on March 4, 2023, at the age of 79. He was a resident of the Minnesota Veterans' Home in Minneapolis. Al was born and raised in Kenyon, Minnesota, and attended school there graduating from Kenyon High School with the class of 1962. He was baptized and confirmed at First Lutheran Church in Kenyon and grew up in a house next to his father's block and tile factory (Brandvold Block and Tile) next to the Kenyon municipal swimming pool. The property is now Depot Park in Kenyon. After high school graduation he went to work at a local firm, and then received a notice from Uncle Sam to join the Army. Off he went to basic training and shortly thereafter, to Vietnam. He was a radio...

Deborah Kae Kvittem, 75, of Lincoln, Nebraska passed away peacefully on Monday, February 27, 2023. Born December 25, 1947, in Sioux Falls, SD to Arnold and Alma (Fortin) Link. Debbie graduated from the University of Minnesota. She enjoyed a career in radiology and medical billing until her retirement. She was joined in marriage to Owen Kvittem on October 9, 1971. Their marriage was blessed with 3 sons, Scott, Dane and Lee. Debbie enjoyed shopping, reading, and watching and feeding "her birds" but above all she loved spending time with her family. She is survived by her son Scott Kvittem, finance Linda Hedland of Bethel, Alaska, his children Jake Erwin of Lincoln and Autumn Kvittem of...

Barbara Lynne Evert passed away peacefully on Wednesday, February 22nd under the care of Mayo Clinic Hospice and Zumbrota Health services in Zumbrota, MN. A celebration of life and visitation will be held on Saturday, March 25th, from 1-4 at Mahn Funeral Home in Zumbrota, MN. A private funeral service will be held at a later date. Barb was born on June 12th, 1951, in Lake City, MN. The middle child of Jack and Lorraine, Barb attended Lincoln High School in Lake City. After High School, Barb attended Winona State University and met the love of her life, Jeffrey Evert. After graduating, Barb and Jeff married on July 12th, 1975, in Lake City, MN. Barb was a renaissance woman of sorts,...

Shirley Louise Peterson of Kenyon, passed away peacefully on Monday, February 13th, 2023, in Northfield. Shirley was born on November 14th, 1940 to Sigurd and Lillian (Brekke) Helland. Shirley grew up in West Concord and graduated from West Concord High School in 1959.In March of 1965 she met and fell head over heels in love with Paul Peterson, and they were married on November 6th, 1965, and enjoyed 57 years of wedded bliss.Shortly after their marriage, Shirley gave her heart to the Lord and her relationship with Christ was a very important part of her marriage and family life. She was the Hauge and Emmanuel church secretary for 22 years while raising her family. Later, she worked for 17...

Shirley Louise Peterson , of Kenyon, passed away on Monday, February 13, 2023 in Northfield. Funeral services will be held on February 16, 2023 at 2:00 PM at Emmanuel Lutheran Church of Aspelund. With a visitation one hour prior to service.

Ruby Doris Johnson, 100, of Goodhue, formerly of Wanamingo, died Sunday, February 5, 2023 at her home surrounded by her loving family. She was born October 7, 1922 in Roscoe, Minnesota the daughter of Martin and Marie (Greseth) Goplen. She grew up in Wanamingo where she graduated from high school in 1940. She moved to Chicago to continue her education at Augustana Nursing School. As a child, she met her husband, Lester "Les" Johnson. They began dating at age 15 after confirmation. She and Les were married on May 5, 1944. They lived in Corpus Christi, Texas and Atlanta, Georgia while Les was in the military. During this time, Ruby began working with the Red Cross. In 1946, Ruby and...

Fred James Pithey Jr. age 91 of Kenyon, passed away on February 2nd, 2023. Fred was born November 25th, 1931 in Norcross, MN, to Fred and Agnes (Keane) Pithey. The Family later moved to Verona, ND. He graduated from Herman High School in 1949. He attended St. John's University at Collegeville, MN. He joined the U.S. Air Force and served in Korea and at Chandler Air Force Station. After serving four years in the Air Force, He returned to North Dakota and was in the grain business at Sanborn ND. Fred married Shirley McDonald on February 10, 1959. Their three children were born in Jamestown, North Dakota. Fred began a career with the Lystad company in 1966, and later they moved to Wisconsin...

Carl O Finnesgaard age 87 of Kenyon passed away at home on January 3, 2023. Carl was born on October 28, 1935 at St. Lucas Hospital Faribault, MN. He attended 8 years of country school before graduating from Kenyon High School. During this time he caught baseball for the high school team and also the Kenyon town team and Faribault legion team. Carl attended Augsburg College in Minneapolis for 2 years and was a catcher for their baseball team. During this time he also worked nights at the 7-Up Bottling Company. He was a catcher for the Benson baseball team the summer between his college years. In November of 1955 Carl volunteered his number for the draft. He served 21 months, 19 of...

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. Margaret looked up to her sister, Reta, who even as a senior made a point of including her freshman sister, and she cared for and...

Libby Jo Denny, age 60 of Claremont, died on Monday, December 26, 2022, at her home. Libby Jo Denny, the daughter of Robert and Viola (Phelps) Eggert, was born on November 6, 1962, in Hayfield, Minnesota. She grew up in Kenyon before moving to Kasson. Following school she stayed home to raise her children and also managed a few service related businesses. In the early 2000's she worked at the Kasson School as a custodian and lunch assistant. Later she left the school and was a supervisor at Dairy Queen for five years until her health began to fail. Libby enjoyed trips to the casino, antiquing, and attending sporting events. She also liked to sing Karaoke and going to concerts. ...

William L. Foss, Sr age 73 of Kenyon, died on Tuesday, December 21, 2022, at his home. William LeRoy Foss Sr., the son of LeRoy and Shirley (Holmes) Foss was born on June 28, 1949, in Faribault. He grew up in Kenyon, graduating from Kenyon High School in 1967. He enlisted in the US Navy and served for a short time before returning to Kenyon. He then attended vocational school. William married Candace Verthein and had two children. They moved from Kenyon in the early 70's to Cannon Falls, where he managed the Curt's Cannon Ball truck stop. He later married Sharon Martenson and had two more children. William then went to work for Metropolitan Airports Commission in maintenance. In...

The Memorial Service for Mary Haugen, will be at Noon, Saturday, January 7th, 2023, at Trinity Lutheran Church, Wanamingo. Inurnment will be in the church cemetery. She passed away on December 15th at the age of 95 years and 10 months. Visitation will be at the church one hour before the Memorial Service. Mary Ann Doerr Haugen was born January 23, 1927, to Otto and Anna (Proehl) Doerr at Stewart, Minnesota. She grew up on the family farm and attended grade school and high school at Stewart, Minnesota and then attended St. Olaf College, graduating in 1948. On June 26, 1948, she was married to Vernon Haugen. After their marriage they lived in Minneapolis and she was a teacher at the Minnesota...

Richard Darwin Knott, 85, of Kenyon, died Saturday, November 5, 2022 at his home surrounded by family. He was born February 20, 1937 in El Reno, Oklahoma to Richard and Emily (Strouhal) Knott. Richard graduated from Hinton High School in Hinton Oklahoma. Richard and Alma were united in marriage on March 25, 1955 at Red Rock Church in Calumet, OK. He would own and operate a Texaco service station in El Reno, OK, before moving to Minnesota in 1963. Alma and Richard raised their family and farmed for many years. Richard was a member of Hegre Church Choir, Hegre Church Counsel President, President of the Kenyon Farmers and Merchant Elevator, and the Goodhue County Dairy Association. He loved...

Haye Zylstra, a faithful follower of Christ, passed away peacefully on Thursday, November 3 at the age of 93. Born in 1929 in rural Friesland, part of the Netherlands, he was the fifth of seven children born to Harmon Zylstra and Wiepkie Hofstra. In 1952 he and his family immigrated to the United States (Iowa) and shortly thereafter, was asked to join the US Army and served as a gunman with the infantry in South Korea. After serving and returning to the U.S., Haye married Judith (Judy) Marilyn Sundry and the couple moved to the Minneapolis area where they raised their two children, David and Sharon. Haye worked for Sawyer-Cleator Lumber Company and served in a variety of positions at...

Shirley Ann (McDonald) Pithey age 89 of Kenyon passed away peacefully on Saturday October 29th, 2022. Shirley was born May 23rd, 1933, to Walters and Lyle (Harmsen) McDonald. She grew up and graduated from Slayton High School in 1951. After graduation she was a staff member of St. Mary's Hospital in Minneapolis. She also spent a few years working for hospital staffs in California and Nevada. Shirley and Fred Pithey were married in Sanborn, North Dakota on February 10, 1959. Their three children were born in Jamestown, North Dakota. Later they moved to Wisconsin and lived in Eau Claire, WI for over twenty years. While there Shirley worked for Dayton-Hudson Company for many years. Shirley...

Agnes (Aggie) Mathilda Aase was born August 26, 1923 to Ole and Bertha (Krogh) Berg on the family farm in rural Kenyon, and passed away peacefully October 2, 2022 at District One Hospital in Faribault. She was baptized and confirmed at Aspelund Lutheran Church. She completed grade 8 at country school and then went to work at several country homes. At age 15 she went to St. Paul and worked at the Glider Plant for the war effort. On October 11, 1946, she married Herbert (Tubby) Aase and in 1960 they moved to the Aase family farm which was her dream come true. She worked tirelessly and happily making the farm a beautiful place. She worked at the Kenyon Pool Hall for several years and then...

Faye Marie Marcuson, 64, of Kenyon, died Thursday, September 22, 2022 at her home. She was born October 13, 1957 in Rochester, Minnesota the daughter of John and Marjorie (Peterson) Weinrich. She lived on several farms in south-eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin and graduated from Mondovi High School in Mondovi, WI. On May 20, 1989, she was united in marriage to James Marcuson, the love of her life, whom she met through a personal ad in the Rochester Post Bulletin. They made their home in Kenyon where Faye made many friends and was a member of First Lutheran Church of Kenyon. Her life was centered around her family and friends and she will be greatly missed. She is survived by her...

Janice Ann Bauer, 84, of Kenyon passed away on Wednesday, September 21, 2022 at Kenyon Senior Living. She was born on January 8, 1938 in Ortonville, Big Stone County, Minnesota to Clarence and Ann (Schoenrock) Thomas. She moved to Alabama after high school, was married, and later divorced. From that union she had 3 children. She supported her family by sewing custom draperies and wedding apparel from home and worked various other jobs. She married Homer Bauer on April 4th, 1970. They added 2 more children to their family. They moved to the farm in rural Kenyon in 1972. Janice was a stay at home mother and was a wonderful cook and baker. When the children were all in school, she began...