Swanson Peterson Funeral Home

Memorial Service: 11AM Saturday, February 9, 2019 at Dassel Covenant Church, 251 Lake Street, Dassel, MN. 55325
Visitation: 4-7 PM Friday, February 8, 2019 at the Church and 1hr prior to memorial service on Saturday.

Erick Morris Latt was born at Litchfield, Minnesota on September 14, 1980, to Mark and Trudy (Gruenhagen) Latt. He grew up on Lake Jennie South of Dassel. Erick graduated in 1999 from Dassel Cokato High School. He went on to Alexandria Technical College graduating in 2001. He went to work for Proto Labs and was a talented designer and supervisor often traveling to start their new plants in England and Japan.
Erick loved his son Preston more than anything in the world. He enjoyed wrestling and playing with his 3 nephews: Wyatt, Warren, and Watson. He also loved to be out in nature, often hunting and fishing. He enjoyed sports and was always laughing and joking around with everyone he knew.
Erick was called home to heaven on Saturday February 2, 2019. He had reached the age of 38 years, 4 months and 18 days. He will forever be missed by family and friends.
Survivors include; his son Preston, His parents Mark and Trudy Latt. Sisters: Laura (Zach) Latt, and Danielle (Walter) Imberg. Grandmother Janet Latt. He is preceded in death by: grandfathers Morris Latt, and Victor Gruenhagen, Grandmother Myrtle Gruenhagen and Uncle Paul Latt.

Virginia Lorraine Hall of Howard Lake, passed away on January 29, 2019 at Howard Lake Good Samaritan Center.
There will be a period of visitation for family and friends on Thursday, February 7, 2019 from 1-5 PM at Swanson-Peterson Funeral Home of Howard Lake.
Virginia Lorraine Hall was born on August 31, 1946 in Montevideo, Minnesota to Edward and Bertha (Thompson) Strobeen. She grew up in Montevideo and graduated from high school there in 1964.

Virginia worked for many years as an administrative assistant at Medtronic in Minneapolis. She led a very active life; she was a co-founder of Project Warm Hearts (providing warm clothing to those in need), where she made and donated thousands of knitted and crocheted scarves and hats. She also, with the help of her sister Margaret, made and donated thousands of quilts. Virginia enjoyed helping people and had many friends.

Virginia passed away after a battle with cancer at Howard Lake Good Samaritan Center on January 29, 2019. She had reached the age of 72.

She is survived by her daughters: Brenda (Jerry) Zahorski, Barb (fiancé Sheldon Remer) Dircz, Michelle (Kirk) Gregor, son-in-law Dan Dircz; grandchildren Andy (Liz) Stulac, Nicki (Howard) Mukanda, Kara (significant other Steven Goodrich) Dircz, Daniel Dircz, and Savannah Remer; sister Margaret Kruger; former husband Jerry Hall, nieces, nephews, other relatives, and many friends.
She is preceded in death by her parents Edward and Bertha Strobeen, and first husband Michael Pearson.

Funeral Service: 1PM, Saturday, 2/2/2019, at St. James Lutheran Church of Howard Lake. Visitation: 4-8 PM Friday at church and 1 hr. prior to service on Saturday. Prayer service: 7 PM Friday. Interment: Howard Lake Cemetery.

Elwood “Woody” Louis Engel, age 93, died peacefully on Wednesday, January 23, 2019 at the St. Mary’s Care Center in Winsted, MN. Woody, a lifelong resident of Howard Lake, was born October 8th, 1925 in Woodland Township (Waverly, MN) to Louis & Alma (Schendel) Engel. 　

He was baptized and confirmed at St. James Lutheran Church in Howard Lake by Reverend C. G. Seltz. He was baptized on November 8th, 1925 and was confirmed in his faith on April 10th, 1938 with the Bible verse Luke 11:28. He graduated from Howard Lake High School in 1943.

Woody met Marvel Kobow at a dance at Lake Sarah in 1947. They were married a year later on June 12th, 1948 and celebrated 70 years of marriage this past June when he sang a song to her that he had written for their 70th anniversary celebration. Their marriage welcomed 4 children: Mary, Jim, Diane & Sandy.

Over the course of his life, Woody farmed with his parents, drove milk truck and operated Engel’s Truck Service for over 50 years until retiring in 1994. Winters were busy selling snowmobiles (Moto-Ski, Sno Pony & Speedway) along with snow plowing at area businesses, homes and churches. Woody served on numerous church boards and provided the equipment & materials to construct parking facilities at St. James Lutheran Church and Shepherd of the Lake Lutheran Church (Garrison, MN).

Woody enjoyed spending summers at the family cabin on Bay Lake near Garrison, MN and later being a ‘Snowbird’ in Mesa, AZ. At other times he could be found fishing on Mille Lacs, Bay Lake or Howard Lake. He loved traveling, visiting and playing cards with family & friends.

He received the nickname “Woody” in 3rd grade during recess when the boys at the Dutch Lake Elementary School were debating on his nickname as being either “El” or “Woody”. They voted for “Woody”, and the name stuck with him during his entire life, but his mother always said his name was “Elwood”.

He was preceded in death by his parents Louis & Alma Engel; daughters Mary (Engel) Forsythe & Diane (Engel) Greeley; grandson Daniel Greeley; son-in-law Donald (Butch) Forsythe; brother Vernon Engel; sister Evelyn (Engel/Erickson) Wallentine; nephew Mark Erickson; brother-in-laws Oliver Erickson & Ron Wikstrom.

Woody is survived by his wife Marvel; children Jim & Sandy (Ken); sister Jean Wikstrom; 6 grandchildren; 8 great grandchildren; nieces; nephews; great nieces; great nephews; a host of other relatives & friends.

Jager, Linda Jean
age 71, of Hutchinson, MN passed away on January 17, 2019. She was born October 9, 1947 in Madison, MN to Harvey and Fern (Fiene) Hanson. In 1967, she was united in marriage to Lyle Jager and this union was blessed with 4 children, Kimberly, Tammy, Dean, and Carmen.
Linda worked as a nursing assistant at Burns Manor in Hutchinson and Dawson Memorial Nursing Home for several years. She enjoyed playing Bingo and Pinochle.
She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, sister, LaVonne Hanson, and grandson, Lucas Jager.
Survived by her children, Kimberly (Byron) Kotval, Tammy (Fiancé David Brambrink) Jager, Dean (Jennifer) Jager, and Carmen (Mark) Luebke, 9 grandchildren, 4 great-grandchildren, and sisters, Karen Hollon and Sandra Thompson.
A celebration of her life will be held at 10:00 AM on Tuesday, January 22, 2019 with gathering of family and friends 1 hour prior to the service at Swanson-Peterson Funeral Home in Cokato, www.swansonpeterson.com, 320-286-2534

Roger L. Roepke of Cokato passed away at Abbott Northwestern Hospital on January 14, 2019.
Funeral Service: 11 AM Saturday, January 19, 2019 at Evangelical Lutheran Church of Cokato. Visitation Begins 1 hr. before service at church.

Roger LeRoy Roepke was born on May 3, 1944 in Glencoe, Minnesota to Loren and Gladys (VonBerge) Roepke. He grew up in Round Grove Township on a farm between Brownton and Stewart, MN. He graduated from Brownton High School in 1962. After high school, Roger attended Winona College where he earned a bachelor’s degree and played on the college baseball team. He later joined the US Army and was stationed in San Diego.

After the army, Roger returned to Minnesota and taught school in Walnut Grove, Brownton, and Hutchinson. While teaching, he was recruited into the insurance business and in 1974 came to Cokato as an agent for State Farm Insurance. He retired in 2005.

On September 6, 1986, Roger married Joyce Annette Young. The couple made their home in Cokato. Roger had many hobbies, including golf, fishing, and snowmobiling. He enjoyed baseball and played for the DC Saints. He was a member of the Lions, the Ridge Runners, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Cokato.

Roger passed away at Abbott Northwestern Hospital on January 14, 2019. He had reached the age of 74 years, 8 months, and 11 days.

Survivors include wife Joyce of Cokato; children Brent (Karna) Rice of Excelsior, Steve Rice of Bloomington, Leigh (Troy) Sangren of Glenwood, Lynn (Scott) Anderson of Montrose, and Kelli (Tad) Palmquist of Warroad; grandchildren Kristina Rice, Lauren Rice, Tommy Rice, Jayson Rice, Annelise Rice, Jack Palmquist, Jase Palmquist, Emily Haan, and Ashley Haan; sisters Darlene (Ed) Kirchoff, Noreen Prinkey, and Joni (Kenny) Dose; brother Marlen (Nancy) Roepke; nieces, nephews, other relatives, and many friends.

Roger was preceded in death by parents Loren and Gladys Roepke and a son, Paul Roepke.