Swanson Peterson Funeral Home

Bill passed away at his home North of Howard Lake on October 26, 2012

Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10 AM Wednesday, October 31, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church of Waverly

Visitation will be from 5 to 8 PM on Tuesday at the church. and 1hr prior to services at church on Wednesday.

There will be a prayer service at 7:30 Tuesday evenig

Interment Church Cemetery

William Howard Stokes (Bill)
was born January 27, 1943 the 8^th of 9 children born to Ray and Bernice
(Keller) Stokes at Chatfield, Minnesota. He grew up there on the family farm. He graduated
from High School at Chatfield.

On September 30,
1967 Bill married Shirley
Bow, at Rochester, Minnesota.  The family
moved to Howard Lake in 1977.  After
working at Lester’s Builders, Air tech in Cokato, and as a carpenter, he
returned to dairy farming and later raised pigs and steers.  He was a farmer at heart and enjoyed watching
the crops and seasons change.

Growing up he spent a lot of
time fishing on the Mississippi
River near Wabasha, he also
enjoyed hunting in the fall and winter.
As a teenager he enjoyed roller skating with family and friends, as the
stories go they would spend several nights a week going to different towns that
had roller rinks and he became quite a “show off”.  He received his first guitar as a Christmas
gift as a teenager and continued to “pick away” for his own enjoyment and later
for the grand kids.

He looked forward to going to
Duluth each fall with his daughter and family.  Some times he would call his kids – just
because he wanted to hear their voice, even if it was only the answering machine.
He liked to ask the grand kids how their day went, what they had for lunch and
if they had any homework.  He was accepting
of all and never had an unkind word to say about anybody During his illness he
enjoyed visits from friends and neighbors and especially quality time with his
kids and grand kids.

Bill passed away at home,
North of Howard Lake on Friday October 26, 2012.  He had
reached the age of 69 years, 8 months and 29 days.

Survivors include: wife
Shirley of Howard Lake, sons; Kevin (Kelly) of Howard Lake and Dan of Howard Lake.  Daughter Teri (Kevin) Vetsch of Cokato.  Grand children Alexa and Colton Vetsch and
MacKenzie, Braden and Jace Stokes.
Brothers; Jerry (Betty) Stokes of Rochester and Mike (Carol) Stokes of Chatfield.

He was preceded in death by
his parents Raymond and Bernice, 4 brothers and 2 sisters.

Alvin Norman Cole, 87, of Cokato, Minnesota, passed away October 16, 2012 due to coronary heart disease.

He was born September 11, 1925 in Tolley, North Dakota to Alice Ogaard and Truman Cole. He was raised by his grandparents in North Dakota and when he was 11 moved to Cokato with them.  He later made his home with his aunt and uncle, Maurice and Doris Ogaard.

He served in the US Navy in the South Pacific during WWII from 1944-47. Upon his return he found an apprenticeship through the GI bill to work at Eddie’s Auto Body shop in Waverly where he sold Ford tractors and learned the auto body trade.  He later worked for Lyle Stowell at the Cokato Body and Paint.  He started his own business in 1959 at the Green Giant Farm Shop and later built Cole’s Auto Body on Hwy 12 where he retired in 1992.

On July 17, 1952 he married Mary Louise Hillmeyer.  They resided on Brooks Lake their whole life where they raised a family of four.  This past summer they celebrated 60 happy years of marriage.

Alvy was passionate about the conservation and preservation of the natural environment and its creatures. He was a tireless volunteer with the Rainbow Sportsman Club and was President of the Wright County Federation of Sportsman’s Club in 1959 and a member of Ducks Unlimited and Pheasants Forever. He founded and taught gun and snowmobile safety classes in the Cokato area and worked to preserve the water quality of his beloved Brooks Lake.

Alvy was also a member of Cokato American Legion Post 209 for 60 years and a Cokato-Dassel Lions International member since 1981.  He was the first member of the club to receive the prestigious Melvin Jones Fellow award for his volunteer work and dedication to the community. For decades he was a common fixture at the Corn Carnival and could be found frying pork chops and brats at the Lions stand. He was an advocate for the trail along Highway 12 and in his 70s would help maintain the grass by driving his lawnmower between Cokato and Dassel. He served as a Cokato volunteer fireman for 32 years.

He tended to vegetable and flower gardens for decades and was an avid hunter and gatherer. Family and friends have many colorful stories of picking berries, mushrooms, and fruit as well as hunting deer, ducks, pheasants and more. Fishing was a passion of his from fly fishing, salmon fishing in Alaska and Lake Michigan, to slaying sunfish at his cabin in Hackensack, Minnesota which they have enjoyed since the early 70s.

Alvy was known for his Weber grilling and smoking skills,sense of adventure, light hearted jokes, work ethic, keen problem solving on all kinds of projects and his common sense.
He was a salt of the earth man that was very family-centered and enjoyed spending time with his children, grandchildren and his dogs. In his retirement he tackled many projects in his shop from furniture restoration to creating things from found objects.  He kept a photo journal of many of his woodworking projects. He was especially proud to be involved in the restoration of a 1918 Model T Ford snowmobile and the 1928 Reo Speedwagon fire truck.

He is survived by his wife, Mary of Cokato; son David (wife Shirley) of Cokato, daughters, Anna Appelbaum (husband Martin) of St. Paul, Elaine (husband Todd) of Forest Grove, Oregon, and Cindy Barth (husband Scott) of Cokato. Grandchildren  Zachary (Staci), Carlie, Allyson, Maya and Ramon and sisters, Trudy Borstad (Clayton) and Nancy Raisanen (Ron).

To honor Alvy’s wishes please send memorials in his name to Cokato Lions Club, P.O. Box 691, Cokato, MN, 55321and Cokato American Legion Post 209, Commander, P.O. Box 43, Cokato, MN 55321.

Visitation: Friday, October 19, 2012, 4-8pm at Swanson-Peterson Funeral Home in Cokato (320)286-2534.

Funeral Service and Internment: Private family service

Funeral Service for Esther Leona Beckala of Cokato will be at 11AM on Monday October 15, at the 1st Apostolic Lutheran Church of Dassel.

Visitation: 4-8 PM Sunday at Swanson-Peterson Funeral Home of Cokato

Prayrer Service: 7 PM on Sunday at the fuernal home.

Esther Beckala was born in Corona,
South Dakota, on September 6, 1910.
She was three years old when they moved to Summit,
South Dakota.  When Esther was nine, the family moved to Milaca,
Minnesota.
They moved to Cokato in 1923 when Esther was thirteen.  She attended Riverside
School which later was re-named Melquist
School where she finished eighth
grade.

She met and married Rognar Beckala also of Cokato, in
1932.  Two children were born to this
union, son Vernon and daughter
Phyllis.  They farmed north of Cokato for
most of their life.  In 1967 they moved
to town.

Esther was a 4-H leader for many years, belonged to Home
Extension and also the Order of the Eastern Star.  Esther worked at Green Giant for a number of
years and Richwell Furniture until retirement.
Esther and her husband spent ten summers north of Park Rapids.  She was a very hard worker and was the
“queen” of recyclers before recycling ever came into existence.  Esther made many miles of rag rugs.  She pounded the loom for over 70 years.  The most favorite being made of denim.  Her rugs went to many parts of the
world.  The shuttles on the loom have now
been stilled.  She was an avid Minnesota
Twins fan, never missed a game on the radio.

Esther passed away at Dassel
Lakeside Care Center
on October 11, 1912.  She had reached the age of 102 years 1 month
and 5 days.  She is preceded in death by
her husband Rognar and daughter Phyllis Davidson, son-in-law Dale, her parents;
Otto and Minnie Evers and Brothers Ernest and Carl Evers, sisters-in-law Elvira
and Mary Lou Evers.  Brothers-in-law;
James Haapala, Donald Skoog and Daniel Ceske.

Esther is survived by son Vernon and his wife Jeanette:
seven grandchildren: Debi (Tom) Menard and Chad (Denise) Beckala of Cokato,
Kent (Robin) Davidson of Annandale, Kelly (Shelly) Davidson of St. Cloud,
Dawnine Beckala and Stacy (Michael) Blackmun of Sioux Falls, South Dakota and
Jamie (Denise) Beckala of Toddville, Iowa.
Ten great-great grandchildren, many nieces and nephews.  Further survived by sisters, Mildred
Happala  of Cokato and Pearl Ceske of
Hutchinson.

A service of Christian Burial took place on Monday, October 15, 2012 at the
First Apostolic Lutheran Church of Dassel, with Pastor Mark Koivisto
officiating.  Diane Grangroth was the
organist.  Interment was in the Cokato
Finnish Cemetery,
rural Cokato.

The Pallbearers were Kent Davidson, Kelly Davidson, Jamie
Beckala, Chad Beckala, Michael Blackmun and Tom Menard.

Yvonne Annette Brandel (Rarer) was born September 12, 1959 in New Port, Rhode Island to Walt and Elaine Rarer (Knutson). She moved to Dassel in 1970 with her family, attending Dassel-Cokato School and graduating in 1977.

She enjoyed sharing her love for cooking with a strong work ethic taking many different positions in the food industry. After leaving Dassel, Yvonne lived for 8 years in St. Cloud, Minnesota. She was also a homemaker, providing a home for her life partner and their dogs in Black Duck, Minnesota, and finally residing in Louisburg, Minnesota the last few years. She Spent her time reading, camping, and traveling to flea markets. Her main joy was talking on the phone to whoever would answer.

Yvonne passed away in her home September 20, 2012 at the age of 53. She is survived by her daughter, Nicole (Randy) Moe and son, Cory Brandel; Grandchildren, Cain and Caleb Savoie, Clara and Chase Brandel, and Jeff and Clay Moe; mother, Elaine Rarer; father, Walt (Cathie) Rarer; sisters, Barb Rarer and Sandra (Tim) Benoit; nieces and nephews, Marcus and Amanda Benoit, Melissa (Trevor) Goulet, and Michael Rarer.

Yvonne is preceded in death by her sister, Dawn Rarer, and life partner, Harlan Russell.

Memorial Service: Friday, September 28, 2012, 3:00 pm at Gethsemane Lutheran Church in Dassel, Minnesota.

Visitation: 1 hour prior to service at church

Celebration of Life: Saturday, September 22, 2012, 2:00 pm at Stockholm Lutheran Church of Cokato.

Visitation: Friday, September 21, 2012, 4-8pm at Swanson Peterson Funeral Home in Cokato, and 1 hour prior to service at Church.

James Orville Ryan, Cokato, age 76, passed away suddenly at Hutchinson Hospital on September 18, 2012.

James (Jim) Orville Ryan was born April 17, 1936 to Joseph & Irene (Peterson) Ryan in Bird Island, MN.  He was baptized and confirmed at Our Saviors Lutheran Church in Bird Island, MN. He graduated from Bird Island Public High School in 1954 and then became an active member of the National Guard.

Jim was united in marriage to Mary Ann Hess on September 17, 1961 at Stockholm Lutheran Church in Cokato.  They were later blessed with 3 children – Jonathan, Miriam, and Marilyn.

Jim was strong in his faith and was an active member of Stockholm Lutheran Church for many years.  He helped start the Stockholm Tractor Show and was found anywhere and everywhere that he could help, with Mary Ann at his side.  He also participated in many community activities such as the County Fair, Insurance Board, Museum Board, Sons of Norway, Legion, Cokato Corn Carnival, and many other organizations.  He was also an avid collector of Massey-Harris and Massey Ferguson Tractors.  Jim was an exemplary model of volunteerism in the Dassel-Cokato area.  He especially loved spending time with his grandchildren and watching their activities- from football to concerts, he was always in the crowd.  Above all, he loved to be at the farm and working in the fields.

Jim is survived by his wife of 51 years, Mary Ann, his 3 children and their spouses, Jonathan (Jane) Ryan of Cokato, Miriam Ryan of Maple Grove, and Marilyn (Bruce) Irvin of Cokato.  His 7 grandchildren- Kate, Rebecca, and Jacob Ryan of Cokato; Kiana Temanson of Maple Grove; Tyler, Jordan, and Sarah Irvin of Cokato also survive him.  He is further survived by his siblings, LaVonne (Robert) Wertish of Olivia, Robert (Mary) Ryan of Bird Island, Paul (Rita) Ryan of Lakeville, sister-in-laws Katherine Jolin of Springboro, OH, Jane Ray of St. Paul, Carolyn (Carl) Cole of St. Thomas, VI, and Brenda Hess of Redondo Beach, CA, many cousins, nieces and nephews, and many, many friends.

Jim was preceded in death by his parents, Joe & Irene, a sister Laura Mae, his in-laws, Omar & Ethel Hess, and brother-in-law Tim Jolin.

Arrangements were made by the Swanson-Peterson Funeral Home in Cokato.  A service of Christian Burial took place on Saturday, September 22 at Stockholm Lutheran Church with Pastor Mark Little officiating.