Lois passed away at the Howard Lake Good Samaritan Center of Howard Lake on 11/14/2013.
Funeral Service: 2PM Monday 11/18/2013 at Evangelical Lutheran Church of Cokato
Visitation: 4-9 PM Sunday at Swanson-Peterson Funeral Home of Cokato and 1hr prior to service at church on Monday
Prayer Service: 8PM Sunday at the funeral home
Interment: Cokato City Cemetery
Lois Caroline “Babe” Gustafson was born on October 28, 1919,
to Cecil and Marie (Nelson) Triplett, she was to be the fifth of eight
children. Her family moved many times
while she was growing up, but eventually settled in Howard Lake. She has many fond memories of visits with her
grandparents in Delano
during that time. They taught their
grandchildren how to play store and instilled in them the value of a dollar.
Babe married Devore Gustafson on May 3, 1940, in Iowa the couple were wed
by Reverend Thomes. They made their home
in Cokato. Babe and Devore were married
for 51 years. Devore died in 1991 which
was a huge loss for her and her family. They
had two children: David and Mary. David
died in 2001, he and his wife Sue had two children, Amy and Matthew. Matt now has four children, all girls. Mary and her husband Herman live in Illinois; they have two
girls; Erica and Amanda. Erica has two
children, a girl and a boy and Amanda has one child a girl. Babe has enjoyed being a grandma and felt
especially lucky to have lived long enough to enjoy her great
grandchildren. Babe is also survived by
her brother Duane and sister Marlys.
Babe and Devore had the theater in Cokato for 10 years,
Devore running the projector and Babe booking the movies, selling tickets,
popcorn and candy. She recalled that
time as some of the best years of her life, particularly when they were showing
“The Ten Commandments”. Babe also had a
very green thumb, she could get anything to grow, she loved to garden and mow
the lawn. At one time she had a large
raspberry patch and sold them to Blaha’s Grocery Store. She liked to put her kids, nephews and nieces
on “weed patrol”, a phrase that still makes us cringe. She had great success with plants she
received while being in Good Samaritan, some of which she had to give away
because they got so big.
Babe passed away at Good Samaritan Center of Howard Lake on November 14, 2013. She had reached the age of 94 years and 16
days. She was preceded in death by: her
parents Cecil and Marie, husband Devore, son David, and siblings Irwin, Roger,
Robert, Irene, and Donald.