Swanson Peterson Funeral Home

Dave G Guennigsman

Dave went home to heaven on January 3rd, 2015 after a long, courageous battle with cancer. He will be remembered for his kind, generous spirit and his quick wit and sense of humor.
Dave was born on May 7th, 1952. He grew up on a farm southeast of Cokato and learned to work hard and enjoy the simple things in life. He loved being outdoors and he could often be found in the woods watching the birds or cutting firewood. He also loved creating beautiful landscapes with gardens and trees and rocks.
Dave graduated from Holy Trinity High School and earned a degree in Accounting at Hutchinson Vo-Tech and U of M Morris. He has worked at Weather Master Seeds, Loren Borg Seed Farms, Littfin Truss, and most recently American Time. He also served as Treasurer of Stockholm Township. Dave was very skilled at home construction and renovation, and he also farmed 80 acres. Dave loved sports and volunteered as a coach for girls 4th-5th grade basketball, and Girls Teen League softball when his daughters were in school. He was also a member of the Dassel Leikarring Dance group.
Dave was a member of the Dassel Covenant Church and he was baptized as an adult to reaffirm his faith in Jesus in August 2014. That renewal of faith inspired him to write about his journey with God. Those writings have become a legacy of songs put to music by Sarah Cady. Dave loved singing the praise music at church and now he is continuing that praise in heaven.
He will be deeply missed by his wife Heidi, and his children: Nicole (Justin) Martin, Blake ( Luke) Schaaf, Megan (Josh) Hughes, Shaina Guennigsman, Dan Guennigsman, and step-daughter April Baxter. And also, by his father, Leo, and five brothers and one sister. Dave loved spending time with his grandchildren: Emma Martin, Sydney Martin, Lydia Hughes, Charlie Hughes, Sterling Peterson, and Audrey Schaaf.
Dave was met in heaven by his granddaughter Lillian, sister Annette, mother Jeanette, father-in-law Dave Rasmussen, and grandparents Albert and Tillie Guennigsman, and Matthew and Frances Kunkel, as well as dear friend Kjell Nordlie.
A service to celebrate his life with us will be on Saturday, January 10, 2015 at 11:00am at the Dassel Evangelical Covenant Church. A gathering for family and friends will be held one hour prior to the memorial service.

Murphy, James Michael
age 61, of Winsted, passed away on December 30, 2014 at his home. He was born August 16, 1953 in Appleton, Wisconsin to Robert and Mary Murphy. He resided in Dassel, Howard Lake, and Winsted. Jimi was an avid fisherman, enjoyed music, and his 3 cats: Blackie, Stretch, and Tom Brown. He had a way to make everyone laugh. Jimi was a Green Bay Packer fan. Survived by his very special friend Bonnie Rasmussen, siblings, Kathy Kessler and Tim Murphy, along with several other friends and relatives.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, January 10, 2015 at 2:00 PM, with visitation 1 hour prior to the service, at Swanson-Peterson Funeral Home & Cremation Services in Howard Lake.

Muonio (Niska), Elsie Lillian
age 70, of Howard Lake passed away on December 29, 2014 following her short battle with bladder cancer. She was born January 28, 1944 in Minneapolis, Minnesota to Melvin Sr. and Linda Niska. She graduated from Buffalo High School in 1962. Elsie was united in marriage to Dennis Muonio on July 4, 1964 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This union was blessed with the birth of 11 children. Elsie was a member of The Old Apostolic Lutheran Church. She was an exceptional cook, enjoyed gardening, making rugs, sewing, and most of all taking care of her family.
Elsie is survived by her husband, Dennis, children, Mark (Kathy Kjoberg) Muonio of Anoka, MN, Sharon (Donny) Oberg of Maple Grove, MN, David (Cindy) Muonio of Battle Ground, WA, Sarah (Chris) Schanus of Howard Lake, MN, Carl (Brandee) Muonio of Watkins, MN, Linda LaFave of Sauk Rapids, MN, Andrew (Robin) Muonio of Battle Ground, WA, James Muonio of Buffalo, MN, Elaine Muonio of Battle Ground, WA, Cindy (Kent) Kivari of Battle Ground, WA, and 27 grandchildren. Also survived by her siblings, Melvin Jr. (Ester) Niska, Annette (David) Carlson, Lila (Wayne) Schmidt, Edith (Edward) Maki, JC (Gary) Johnson, Leonard (Selina) Niska, Lois Niska, Eunice (John) Burns, and numerous other relatives and friends.
She is preceded in death by her parents, son, Daniel Walter, grandson, Cody LaFave, siblings, Marian Halberg, Charlie Niska, Evelyn Wilen, and Victor Niska.
Funeral Service: Thursday, January 1, 2015, 11:00 AM at The Old Apostolic Lutheran Church (70647 280th Street, Dassel, MN 55325)
Visitation: Wednesday, December 31, 2014, 5-8 PM and continuing 1 hour prior to the service all at the Church.

Mary Linda Hall passed away at Abbott Northwestern Hospital on Christmas Day.
Visitation; 4-8 PM Sunday 12/28/2014 at Swanson-Peterson Funeral Home of Howard Lake
Prayer Service: 7 PM Sunday at the Funeral Home
Memorial Service: 2PM Monday at Oak Heights Covenant Church of Hutchinson

Mary Linda Hall was born on October 13, 1949 at Grand Rapids, Michigan the daughter of Maxwell and Verna (Wright) Larkin. The family soon moved to Litchfield, Minnesota where Mary grew up, until she entered senior high school when the family moved to Minneapolis where she graduated in 1967 from West High School. Mary attended Minneapolis Vocational School studying Hospital Station Secretary. She went on to work at Prudential in Minneapolis for 26 years.

In May of 1968 Mary met Douglas Hall. They were married in June of 1969 at Hobart United Methodist Church of Minneapolis. They made their home in Minneapolis until January of 1976 when they moved to Howard Lake. In August of 2012 Mary and Doug moved to Hutchinson.

Mary and Doug were members of the First Presbyterian Church of Howard Lake, Mary was very active there and served as Treasurer, elder, Sunday school teacher, youth group, and sang in the choir.

Mary passed away at Abbott Northwestern Hospital of Minneapolis on December 25, 2014. She had reached the age of 65years, 2 months and 12 days. She is survived by her husband Douglas of Hutchinson, sister: Maureen (David) Larkin-Hoover of Howard Lake. Brother-in-law; Jim (Betty) Hesselgrave, Nieces: Wendy Hoover-Carpentier, Ann Hoover, Jill Hoover-Attabury, their children, and niece Amy Hesselgrave, grand niece Ellen Hofstede, and God son Donald (Mary) Osborne. Along with other relatives and many friends.

Mary was preceded in death by her parents Maxwell and Verna Larkin, grand parents, and other relatives

Hillstrom, John Thomas
earthly journey ended on November 30, 2014, at the age of 36. He was born April 26, 1978, in St. Cloud, MN to Charles and Karen (Jarl) Hillstrom. John Graduated from Dassel-Cokato High School in 1996. He furthered his education with an Associates Degree in Social Work and a Bachelors Degree in Economics with an Investment emphasis from the University of North Carolina at Willmington.
John liked to fish, hunt, and spend time in the outdoors. He played hockey and enjoyed good conversation with friends and family. In addition, John had a healthy sense of adventure, which led him and friends to hop a train, taking them out west. Later his travels led him to North Carolina, where he found his love of the ocean and the coastal region.
He is survived by his father Charles (Denise) Hillstrom, sister Anne (Nathan) Bassett, brother Karl Hillstrom, nieces and nephews, Nick, Josh, Erin, Lydia, Eian Bassett, and Hope Nevala, grandparents, Tom and Joyce (Kotila) Jarl. Along with several other family and friends.
John was preceded in death by his mother, Karen, grandparents, Uno and Ruth Hillstrom.
There will be a celebration of John’s life on Friday, December 5, 2014 at 2:00 pm at Good Shepherd Free Lutheran Church. Visitation will take place from 4-7 pm, along with 4:00 prayer on Thursday, December 4, 2014 at Swanson-Peterson Funeral Home in Cokato and continue 1 hour prior to the service at the church.