Online Obituaries
Monday, January 18, 1999
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Mabel Thor, 96, of rural Comfrey, died Saturday, Jan. 16, 1999, at St. John Lutheran Home, Springfield. Arrangements are pending with Sturm Funeral Home, Comfrey.
Lydia Bonkoski, 100, of St. James, died on Sunday, January 17, 1999 at Pleasant View Nursing Home, where she had been a resident since 1988.
Services are 1 p.m. Wednesday at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in St. James, with burial in Mt. Hope Cemetery in St. James.
Visitation will be 4-8 p.m. Tuesday and 8 a.m.-11 a.m. at Pease Funeral Home in St. James and will continue one hour prior to the service at the church.
She is survived by sons, Robert and wife Evelyn of Mountain Lake, Lloyd and wife Susie of Victoria, Minn., Lyle and wife Lucille of Clear Lake, Wis. and Eugene and wife Delona of Faribault, Minn.; daughters, Ruth Vogt and husband Harry of St. James, Norma Shefveland of Milaca, Minn., Vera Frauenholtz and Ardis Rutherford and husband Donald, all of Fresno, Calif. and Joanne Simmons and husband Royal of Peoria, Ariz.; 47 grandchildren; 85 great-grandchildren; 35 great-great grandchildren; sister-in-law, Della Hopman of Fairfax, Minn.
She was preceded in death by husband; son, Arthur Bonkoski Jr.; four grandsons; three brothers; and one sister.
She was born March 3, 1898, near Woodworth, Ill. to John and Emma (Homeier) Hopman. She attended school in Woodworth. She moved to the St. James area with her family in 1914. She married Arthur Bonkoski on Dec. 30, 1917 in St. James. He died Dec. 31, 1985. They farmed in rural St. James until 1948 when they moved into St. James. They moved back to the farm and then back into St. James in 1971. She was a member of St. Paul's Lutheran Church in St. James and was a member of its Ladies Aid of the church. She was also a member of the American Legion Auxiliary in St. James.
Ellen Gluth, 82, of rural Renville, died Sunday, Jan. 17, 1999 at Redwood Falls Hospital.
Services are 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at St. Matthew's Lutheran Church in Flora Township, Renville County, with burial in Crestlawn Memorial Gardens in rural Redwood Falls.
Visitation is 4-8 p.m.today at Nelson Funeral Home in Redwood Falls and will continue one hour prior to services on Wednesday.
She is survived by sons, Leland Gluth and wife Grace and Gary Gluth, all of Renville; grandchildren, John Gluth and wife Kay of Maynard, Dale Gluth and wife Colleen of Milroy and Kari Gluth and fiancee Jim Pistulka of Minneapolis; great-granddaughter, Katelyn Gluth of Maynard; brother, Gordon Kjeldgaard and wife Margaret of Michigan; sisters, Elsie Jorgenson and husband Roy of Texas, Lillian Christiansen and husband Norman of Oregon and Marian Gluth and husband Delbert of Morgan.
She was preceded in death by her husband Walter in 1977; son; Donald; and two brothers, Einar and Henry Kjeldgaard.
She was born Aug. 27, 1916, in Brookville Township, Redwood County to Christian and Johanna (Kiergaard) Kjeldgaard. She married Walter Gluth on Oct. 20, 1939 at Bethany Lutheran Church near Gilfillan. They farmed in Eden Township. Brown County until moving to Flora Township, Renville County in 1960. She was a member of St. Matthew's Lutheran Church in Flora Township, Ladies Aid and Owls Club.
Edward Robasse, 78, of Wabasso died Sunday, Jan. 17, 1999, at Wabasso Health Care Center.
Mass of Christian burial will be 11 a.m. Tuesday at St. Anne's Catholic Church in Wabasso, with burial in the church cemetery.
Visitation will be 4-8 p.m. today and continue one hour prior to services at the church. There will be a parish prayer service 8 p.m. today at the church.
He is survived by his wife, Mary Alice; sons, James of Bloomington and Charles and wife JoAnn of Wabasso; daughters, Margaret Jenniges and husband John of Blaine, Joan Peterson and husband Carl of Rosemont and Patricia Schaffran and husband Wayne of Chaska; 10 grandchildren; and sister, Frances Cashman of Maple Lake.
He was born May 21, 1920 in Chatham Township, Wright County, Minn. to George and Evelyn (Pribyl) Robasse. He attended District 39 country school, Maple Lake Public School and Buffalo High School, where he graduated in 1937. He worked on the family farm until entering the Army Air Corps in 1941. After being discharged in 1945, he attended the University of Minnesota, where he received his bachelor's degree in business administration in 1947. He married Mary Alice Kozel on June 19, 1948 at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Montgomery, Minn. In 1953, they moved to Montgomery and in 1966 they moved to Wabasso. He was president of the Wabasso State Bank until his retirement in 1985. He also served as chairman of the board of the State Bank of Wabasso, district 7 director of the Minnesota Bankers Association, president of the County Bankers Association and was on the board of directors for the Independent State Bank. He was mayor of Wabasso, served on the Redwood Falls Hospital Committee and was instrumental in getting ambulance service in Wabasso. He was a member of St. Anne's Catholic Church, the Knights of Columbus, the American Legion, the Wabasso Lions Club, Commercial Club and the Home and School Association.