Swanson Peterson Funeral Home

Memorial service will be held on Saturday March 3, 2012 at the Good Shepard Free Lutheran Church of Cokato, at 11AM

Gerald Herbert Niemela I, was born in Cokato,
Minnesota on February 7, 1942, to Gustaf and Louise (Compton)
Niemela.  He grew up in Cokato and
graduated from Cokato High
School in 1960. After High School he spent 4
years in the United States Air Force.

Gerald attended technical classes in the building trade, and
completed the drafting course at the Dunwoody Institute of Minneapolis.  He worked as a draftsman for Millerbernd
Manufacturing of Winsted for 18 years.
In 1993 Gerald moved to Florida
where he owned and operated Off Shore Bait and Tackle at Port Richey.

Gerald enjoyed many hobbies, he was an outdoorsman and spent
a lot of time fishing, camping, and hunting.
He collected antique guns, and enjoyed “fun”.

Gerald passed away at Port Richey, Florida
on January 31, 2012.  He had reached the age of 69 years, 11 months
and 24 days.  Survivors include:
Daughter, Darlene Louise (Tom) Nordwall, and sons, Gerald Herbert Niemela II
and Gregory Joseph Niemela.  9 grandchildren
2 great granddaughters, and siblings: Gustaf, Delores, and Jane, along with
many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents Gustaf and Louise.

Funeral Service for Laramie will be held at 1PM on Saturday Feb. 25, at the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Cokato.

Visitation will be from 5-9PM Friday at Swanson-Peterson Funeral Home of Cokato, and 1hr prior to services at the church on Saturday

There will be a prayer service on Friday evening at the funeral home at 8PM

Laramie Rose
Anderson was born at the Cokato Hospital on September
16, 1958 to
Lawrence and Roselene (Nolan) Anderson.
She grew up in Cokato, was baptized and confirmed at the Evangelical Lutheran Church, and graduated from Dassel-Cokato High School in 1977.

After high
school, she received her AA degree in Law Enforcement at Golden Valley Lutheran College, then went on to complete 1 year at St. Cloud State University.

Laramie held office positions with various
companies over the years, including working in the Business Office at Park Nicollet Medical Center.
Since 1997 she has been the Business Office Manager for The Midwest
Center for Reproductive Health in Maple Grove.

She has lived in Champlin, Minnesota since 1996.

Laramie
enjoyed family vacations, camping, reading, and traveling with her “high school
sisters”.  One of her greatest joys was
attending the various events in which her nieces and nephews were involved –
and spoiling them every chance she had.

Laramie
passed away at her parents’ home on February 18, 2012.  She had reached the age of 53 years, 5
months, and 2 days.

Survivors
include her parents Lawrence and Roselene of Cokato.   Brothers Jerrill (Melissa) of Big Lake, and
James (Janice) Anderson of Portland, Oregon.
Nieces and Nephews: Cassandra, Brenyn, Myranda, Nelson, and Kelsey,
Canaan, Kenzie.

She is
preceded in death by her Grandparents and Nephew Daryn.

Memorial Service will be held at 2:00 PM on Friday, February 24, at the First Presbyterian Church of Howard Lake.

Mary Anne Stenberg, was born in Minneapolis,
Minnesota on May 16, 1946 to Axel and Catherine (MacDonald)
Anderson.  She grew up in Cokato,
Minnesota and graduated from Cokato
High School in 1964.

On June 27, 1964
Mary was united in marriage to Verdell Stenberg at the Evangelical Lutheran
Church of Cokato.  The couple made their
home in Howard Lake.

Mary received her Registered Nursing degree at the Anoka
Ramsey Community College.  She pursued her career at the Waconia
Hospital and Howard Lake Good
Samaritan Nursing home for 33 years.

Mary enjoyed reading, bird watching, gardening, and most of
all family and friends.  She was a long
time member and very active at the First Presbyterian Church of Howard
Lake.  Mary also was involved in the
Lions Seeing Eye dog program.

Mary passed away suddenly on February 16, 2012 in Howard
Lake.  She had reached the age of 65 years and 9
months.

Survivors include, her children: Dean (Catherine) Stenberg
of Cokato, and Lauri (Darin) Zumach of Buffalo.
Grand children Jeremy Dodge, Axel, Veronica and Drake Stenberg, Kylee
and Kari Zumach.  Brother Harold (Louise)
Anderson of Huntsville
Alabama.
Brother-in-laws Daryll (Deb) Stenberg of Howard Lake, and John (Bev)
Watson of Park Rapids.  Sister-in-law Kay
Stenberg of Howard Lake.  Nieces, nephews, other relatives and many
friends.

Wallace Lavern Melquist was born on February 10, 1918, in Eagle Bend, Minnesota to G. Walter and Alice Melquist.  They lived there for one year before moving to the Melquist homestead northeast of Cokato, where he lived most of his life. Wally was confirmed at the Evangelical Lutheran Church and was a lifetime member there. He graduated from Cokato High School in 1936.

Wally was a hard working farmer for many years.  He loved to go deer hunting and fishing and he loved the outdoors.  He was a Minnesota Twins fan and often wore his Twins hat to show his support. Wally traveled to the West Coast, to the Virgin Islands and to several countries in Europe.  He loved seeing new places and meeting new people.  Wally loved to laugh and would share a joke whenever he could and enjoyed having a cup of coffee with his friends.

Wally Melquist passed away on Monday, January 30 at the Lakeview Ranch at the age of 93 years and 11 months.  He will be remembered for his humor and fun personality as well as for his kindness to others.

Wally is preceded in death by his parents, brother, Lloyd, brother-in-law, Leo Gerber, and nephew, Loren Melquist.  Wally is survived by his sister, Doris Gerber, his brother, Virgil and wife Lucille, and sister in law, Helen Melquist.  He is also survived by his nephews and nieces, his grand nephews and nieces and by Cindy Melquist Erickson.  He was a devoted son, brother, and uncle and will be missed by all.

The family would like to thank all who have prayed for andvisited with Wally.

Memorials preferred to a dementia care foundation.

Funeral service: Fri. Feb. 3, 2012, 2 pm at the Evangelical Luth. Church in Cokato. Visitation: 1 hr. prior to service at church. Arr. by Swanson Peterson of Cokato 320-286-2534.

Roland Carl Nelson was born on August 7, 1947, in St. Cloud, Minnesota, to Walter and Mildred (Shipp) Nelson. He was baptized on October 26, 1947, at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Cokato and was confirmed at Faith Lutheran Church in Hutchinson.

Roland graduated from Hutchinson High School in 1965 and continued his education at Dunwoody Institute. He enjoyed a 35-year career as a draftsman at Goebel Fixture Company in Hutchinson.

Roland was a man of many interests, including bicycling, cross country skiing with his niece, playing tennis and ping pong, baseball, listening to blue grass music, collecting coins and postcards, and bee keeping. Friends often referred to him as “The Old Bee,” coined from the bee keeping and wonderful honey he has provided for over 30 years. He cherished many memories from traveling and backpacking with friends to searching for collectibles and memorabilia at flea markets and auctions. Many of his greatest memories were from the adventures he would go on with friends or family to pick blue berries, find something at his pole shed, attend a music show, go to a decoy or coin show, or just sitting around talking. Roland was also a talented sketch artist and has created numerous pencil sketches, including a Presidential sketch housed at the McLeod County Museum. His talents extended into his love of carpentry, which he used to build many cabinets and furniture pieces for himself and others. Roland was always willing to share his talents and often helped his nephew and others with various projects.

Roland’s battle with cancer ended on Friday, January 27, 2012. He will be remembered for his genuine personality and witty sense of humor. Blessed be his memory.

He is survived by his sisters Ruth (Dean) Needham of Conroe, Texas; Louise

(Dennis) Schroeder of Hutchinson, Minnesota; niece, Denise (Monte) Einck; nephew, Kyle (Laurie) Schroeder; great-nieces and nephew, Allison, Makenna, and Maxten Einck all of Hutchinson, Minnesota.

He is preceded in death by his parents Walter and Mildred Nelson.

Funeral Service: Wednesday, February 1, 2012 1:00 pm at the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Cokato.

Visitation 2 hours prior to the service at church.

Internment to follow the service at the Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery.