Swanson Peterson Funeral Home

Clayton Mattson 87 of Howard Lake, passed away at Howard Lake Good Samaritan Center on Saturday, October 18, 2014.
Memorial Service: 2:00 PM Saturday, October 25, 2014 at St. Johns Lutheran Church of Howard lake
Visitation: 4-7 PM Friday, at Swanson-Peterson Funeral Home and Cremation Service of Howard Lake and 1 hr prior to service on Saturday at church.

Clayton Marvin Mattson was born on September 20, 1927 in Waverly, Minnesota to Clinton and Alice (Bakeberg) Mattson. He grew up on a farm North of Waverly, and was baptized and confirmed at the Swedesburg Lutheran Church in Marysville Township. In 1945 Clayton graduated from Buffalo High School.
On October 21, 1950 Clayton married Muriel Birkholz at St. James Lutheran Church of Howard Lake. The couple lived in Buffalo first and in 1954 bought the farm North of Howard Lake. Clayton farmed and in 1958 started the well drilling business. In 1968 they built Mattson Well at their present location. Clayton retired about 10 years ago.
He enjoyed wood working, golf, hunting and fishing, and enjoyed socializing a the Howard Lake Legion. Most important to Clayton was his family.
Clayton passed away at the Howard Lake Good Samaritan Center on Saturday, October 18, 2014. He had reached the age of 87 years and 28 days.
Survivors include: his wife Muriel of Howard Lake, children: Nola (Loyal) Staskivige of Loretto, Deborah Herbst of Delano, Kurt Mattson of Howard Lake and Kent Mattson of Howard Lake. Grand children: Forrest Mattson, Nathan Mattson, Jason Herbst, Amber Gruba Mattson, Stephanie Schuman, David Nettleton. Great grandchildren: Dylan, Kasja, Alexa, Kane, Skylor, Devin, Brandon, and Ethan. Brothers: Richard and David and sister Wanda Gilmer. Clayton was preceded in death by his parents and son John.

Robert Joseph Hazelton, 67, of Howard Lake, Minnesota, passed away early the morning of October 16th, 2014 at his home, after a long fight with a formidable opponent, cancer.

Robert was born November 11, 1946 in Philadelphia, and was raised in Orlando, Florida. He grew up loving athletics, and excelling at many. After being honorably discharged from the Navy, he pursued a career in professional boxing. Among the highlights were his fights with George Foreman and Bob Foster, as well as his time as a sparring partner with Joe Frazier. After his boxing career, Robert spent some time as a bodyguard for the bands such as Van Halen and Def Leppard.

During his career in boxing, pressure mounted on Robert to add weight and become more powerful, which lured him into steroid use. Both his legs were amputated as a result. After a long, painful recovery, Robert began speaking to young athletes about the risks of steroid use, helping others to avoid the painful road he followed. Robert did many interviews on the subject, was featured on many national sports programs, and spoke to a Congressional Subcommittee in 2004 while it was considering tighter controls on over-the-counter “pre-cursers” of steroids.

Robert met the love of his life, Valerie Warn, in 1994. Valerie and Robert built a home in Howard Lake, Minnesota, sharing it with a family of loving animals, including Sammy, his beloved dog.

A few years ago Robert, through all his challenges, accomplished one of his proudest achievements—his private pilot’s license. He regretted that he wasn’t able to fly very much after getting it. But maybe, somewhere, right now, he’s flying. Free as a bird…

Robert is survived by many loving family members, including his wife Valerie, Mother, Lara Mae Grantham, Sister, Mary Jo King, nieces and nephews, and his loving pets. He is preceded in death by his father Joseph, and brother, Harry. Services will be held at Bear Creek Lutheran Church, 74727 265th Street, Grand Meadow, Minnesota, on October 25, 2014, at 11 am.

Memorial Service: 11:00 AM,Saturday, October 18, 2014 at St. James Lutheran Church of Howard Lake
Visitation: Begins at 10:00 AM at church on Saturday
Lorraine Jeanette Lauzer passed away at Howard Lake Good Samaritan Center on October 12, 2014

Lorraine Jeanette Lauzer was born July 15, 1929 in Howard Lake, Minnesota the daughter of Albert and Minnie (Schmieg) Drawert. She was a lifelong member of St. James Lutheran Church, Howard Lake where she was baptized on August 11, 1929 and confirmed in her faith on April 18, 1943.
In 1945, she was married to George Lauzer. Their marriage was blessed with eight children. Together they operated the family farm and lived there until 1970 when they moved into Howard Lake.
On October 12, 2014, while a resident at the Howard Lake Good Samaritan Care Center, Lorraine was called to her eternal rest having reached the age of 85 years, 2 months and 27 days.
She was preceded in death by her parents; husband George; infant son Richard; son Michael and grandson Joshua.
Lorraine is survived by her children Sharon Hecksel, Dennis (Patricia) Lauzer, LuAnn (Robert) Ryks, James (Renee) Lauzer, David (Kelly) Lauzer, Cheryl (Lee) Hamilton; sisters-in-law Norma Drawert and Fran Lauzer; 23 grandchildren; 50 great-grandchildren; and 4 great-great grandchildren; other relatives and friends.

Benson, Patricia Ann
age 78, of Cokato, passed away on October 12, 2014 at Cokato Manor. She was born June 5, 1936 in St. Cloud, Minnesota to George and Ann Jaeger. She was united in marriage to James E. Benson. This marriage was blessed with the birth of five children. They resided in Cokato, Minnesota for 30 years.
Patricia is survived by her children Carl Benson, David Benson, Kathleen (Donald) McKay, Gary Benson, and Penny Benson, 12 grandchildren, and 17 great-grandchildren, along with brothers, Joseph and Gene Jaeger.
She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, son, James P. Benson, daughter-in-law, Lila May Benson, brother, Thomas Jaeger, and sister, Millie Kringle.
Funeral service: Thursday, October 16, 2014 at 1:00 pm and visitation: Wednesday, October 15, 2014 from 4-9 pm all at Swanson-Peterson Funeral Home & Cremation Services in Cokato

His family would like to share that he passed away on October 1, 2014.
A memorial service will be held at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Waverly, on Saturday, October 4, 2014 at 10:00 am, with visitation 1 hour prior to the service and internment taking place at St. Mary’s cemetery immediately following services.