Swanson Peterson Funeral Home

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.

Ohm, Charles Fredrick Willhelm, age 98, of Litchfield, died peacefully surrounded by his family on January 26, 2012 at Emmanuel Home in Litchfield. Charley was born December 2, 1913 in New Germany, MN. to Ernest and Elisabeth (Moy) Ohm. On April 2, 1936 he was united in marriage to Viola Karels in New Germany, MN. This marriage was blessed with 4 sons: Gerald, Loren, Curtis, and Roger. After marriage, Charley and Viola lived in Belle Plaine, MN for a time before moving to a farm in Greenleaf and eventually purchasing a farm northeast of Dassel. From there, they moved to Cokato and later resided in Litchfield for 13 years.

Charley enjoyed his music and played the concertina. Later when he could no longer play, Charley would always listen to old time music.

He is preceded in death by his parents, 3 brothers, 5 sisters, 2 sons: Gerald and Loren, and 3 grandchildren: Keith, Jenny, and Linda Ohm.

Charley is survived by his wife: Viola, 2 sons: Curtis (Barbara) and Roger (Lynn), 6 grandchildren, and 11 great-grandchildren.

Funeral Service: Monday, January 30, 2012, 2:00 pm at the Emmanuel Home in Litchfield.

Visitation : Beginning at 1:30 at the Emmanuel Home in Litchfield.

Luncheon to follow the service with internment in the Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery in Cokato following the luncheon.

Elizabeth (Betty) Krautkremer Ziegler, 86, passed away peacefully January 23^rd, 2012 at Abbott Northwestern Hospital after a short illness. Betty was born April 1, 1925 to Edward and Julia (Gobel) Krautkremer in Mankato. She attended St. Peter and Paul Elementary School and Loyola High School. She was selected homecoming queen her senior year. She worked as a nurse’s aid at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Mankato. After graduation, she attended the Army Nurse’s Corp in Chicago.She returned to Mankato and worked as a dental assistant. On May 7^th, 1946 she married Lyle Ziegler. They began farming in the Nicollet, MN area. In 1958, they moved to a dairy farm outside of Cokato where they continued to farm until they sold their farm and moved into town in 1976. Over the years, Betty worked as a purchasing agent for Land o Nod/ Richwell Furniture and at The Marketplace in the flower department.

Betty and Lyle had 4 children, Nancy Olson of Little Falls, Tim (Nancy) of Elk River, Ginny (Kevin) Camerer of Owatonna, and Gina Beers of Sioux Falls, SD. They had 9 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. While in Cokato, she also “adopted” another family, Robert and Audrey Webster and their 5 children. There was special place in her heart for her many friends.

She was a long time volunteer for her church, St. John’s Catholic Church of Darwin. She volunteered in many different ways over the years. She was recognized for this service by the Bishop when she was presented with The Bishop’s Medal for Service.

Betty enjoyed baking cookies, bread, buns, and cakes then giving them to her friends and family. She was a skilled seamstress and made wedding dresses for 2 of her daughters and a granddaughter. In later years, she enjoyed being a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church Quilting Group. She was especially proud of the baby blankets they made for Birthright.

Her love for gardening could be seen by all. She spent much time planting and caring for the flowers in her front yard and apartment. Betty did not like grouchy people and worked hard to make everyone around her smile. She enjoyed going on adventures to new places, including getting lost, and experiencing new things with her family.

She was preceded in death by her parents, brother, Edward Jr., and her husband.

She is survived by her sister, Mary Jane Fitterer, Litchfield, her children, grandchildren, great-grand children, and many nieces and nephews.

Funeral service: Sat. 1/28, 11 am at St. John’s Catholic Church in Darwin. Visitation: Fri. 1/27, 4-7pm at Swanson-Peterson Funeral Home of Cokato (320)286-2534, and 1 hr. prior to service at church.

Wisuri, David Ryan, age 34 of Cokato passed away on Jan. 7, 2012 after a short battle with cancer. He graduated from Dassel-Cokato High School in 1999 and worked at Adult Training and Habilitation in Winsted. David enjoyed working in the garage and yard with his mother and father, along with watching Norman on the tractor and attending camp. He is survived by his parents: Robert and Lorraine, siblings: Anne (Nathan) Wuollet, Laura Wisuri, Rita (John) Mattila, Wendy (Curt) Simonson, Doug (Lana) Wisuri all of Cokato, Mary (Jason) Long of Oak Park Heights, Duane (Sara) Wisuri of MI., Ken Wisuri of AZ., Glenn (Melanie) Wisuri of AZ., along with many nieces and nephews.

Funeral service: Jan. 11, 2012, 11 am, vis. Jan. 10, 2012 4-8pm and 1 hr. prior to service all at Cokato Laestadian Luth. Church.