Breezy Point Robert Ero (Bob) Kutsi, age 74, of Breezy Point (formerly of Blue Earth) died Saturday afternoon (June 23, 2012) at the Grand Rapids Hospital of complications due to a heart attack.
Bob was born in Moose Lake, on Sept. 27, 1937, to Ero Arvid Kutsi and Fonda (Lahti) Kutsi. Fonda died early in 1938 and Bob was taken care of by a variety of people; his father operated the Gamble's store in Moose Lake.
In 1940, Ero married Anna Ropponen and the trio moved into a new home near the Moose Lake school where Bob attended first grade. In the summer of 1944 the family moved to Chicago where Ero worked for Douglas Aircraft. Bob attended second grade in Chicago and began third grade in Des Plains, Illinois, after the end of WWII in 1945. In October of that year the family returned to Moose Lake where Bob finished grade and high school; he was active in all areas of extracurricular: music, drama, sports and student government.
After graduating from Moose Lake in 1955 Bob attended UMD in Duluth and worked summers at the paper mill in Cloquet. Bob majored in speech and minored in English and physical education, doing his practice teaching at Hermantown High School and Ordean Junior High in Duluth.
The summer of 1959 was a busy one: Bob earned his B.S. degree; he married Carol Ann Peterson, also a graduate of Moose Lake; and signed a contract to teach English and speech in Foley. Robert and Tracy, two of their five children were born in Foley.
After four years the stay in Foley ended in 1963 as the family moved to Blue Earth where Bob's teaching duties of English and speech resumed. Soon after, he was named boys' golf coach; in 1977 girls' golf was added to his duties. Colby, Jace and Tara, the other three children were born in Blue Earth. All five children had eleventh grade English from their father ("Have you finished your English assignment yet?"), and all five were out for golf at some time. Bob retired in 1994 after 35 years of teaching; he kept coaching girls through 1996 and boys through 1998. The two state championships for the boys (1993 and 1995) were instrumental in Bob's being named "Coach of the Year" and later being inducted into the Minnesota Golf Coaches' Hall of Fame.
Bob wore many "hats" in his attempt to augment his teaching and coaching salary: park worker, truck driver, swimming pool cleaner, school custodian, muffler installer, gas station attendant, carpenter, mason helper, radio announcer/DJ, golf instructor, home re-modeler, insurance salesman, motel manager, and bartender/waiter to name a few.
Robert Ero Kutsi is survived by his five children: Robert Parnell (Cindy) Kutsi, of Big Bay, Mich., Tracy Gaye Kutsi, of Blue Earth, Colby Ryan (Judy) Kutsi, of Mt. Home, Ark., Jace Dana (Nicole and her daughter Vayla) Kutsi, of Brooklyn Park, and Tara Leigh Kutsi, of Astoria, New York. Carol passed away in 2004.
Whether Bob was teaching or coaching or whatever, and whether you called him Kuts, Bob, Kootz, Papa, Dad, Ero, Babe, Miss Piggy, Kusi, Robert, or Mr. Kutsi, his friends and former students and golfers and family members would probably agree on one thing he always had fun. Bob's body was donated to the University of Minnesota; he thought the hard-working medical students ought to have a few chuckles too.
The above obituary was written by Bob about a year and a half ago. He will truly be missed by his children and friends. "Buck that wind, Dad!"
71, of Buffalo Center, died Saturday July 16, 2011, at United Hospital District Hospital in Blue Earth, Minn.
A memorial service will be held 10:30 a.m. Saturday, July 23, at First Reformed Church in Buffalo Center. An immediate burial took place at St. Paul Lutheran Cemetery in Lakota on Sunday, July 17.
Verdene was born Feb. 11, 1940, to Charlie and Alta (Nutt) Stroebel, on a farm southwest of Titonka. Verdene attended the Titonka School District until fourth grade. At that time her parents moved to Lakota to farm the Stroebel family farm. Moving to Lakota brought a new school, church and friends. Verdene was confirmed at St. Paul Lutheran in 1953. She attended high school in Lakota and graduated in 1957.
On July 26, 1957, on her parents' wedding anniversary she married Robert D. Anderson, son of Harold and Mildred Anderson of Swea City.
In 1968, Verdene ran for a position on the Kossuth County Board of Education, which was in charge of special needs for children. She served on this board until 1973 when she decided she needed more time to attend college. She graduated with her A.A. Degree in 1972 from Iowa Lakes, Estherville. She then attended Mankato State in Mankato, Minn., graduating in the spring of 1974. She began a long term sub job in Algona that spring. In the fall of 1974, she started teaching special education in Lakota. In the fall of 1978 she started teaching Special Education for Blue Earth Public Schools. In July of 1982 she received her Master's Degree in Special Education from Mankato State University. She continued to teach special education until 1990 when she started the Alternative School for Blue Earth. She taught until 1998 at which time she retired.
Verdene loved teaching and her only goal was to make a difference in the lives of the children she worked with.
Verdene is survived by her husband, Robert, of Buffalo Center. They were blessed with four children. One son, James (Rhonda) Anderson, Blue Earth, Minn., three daughters, Janet (Paul) Jutting, Buffalo Center, Julie (Dean) Balvance, Buffalo Center, and Jill (Joe) Sanders of Tofte, Minn. She is also survived by eight grandchildren; two step-grandchildren; five step-great-grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. She is also survived by three sisters, Mildred Spear of Algona, Elsie (Paul) Koppen of Lakota, and Darlene (Maurice) Blome of Ferryville, Wis.; many nieces and nephews; and many friends and other relatives.
Oakcrest Funeral Services of Bancroft in charge of arrangements.
Diane R. Stave
Age 68, of Minneapolis, passed away on Sept. 30, 2011. Diane battled a rare cancer, Leiomyosarcoma, for over ten years.
Diane was raised on the farm her grandparents homesteaded near New Effington, SD. She graduated high school at Sisseton, SD, and attended college at North Dakota State and Moorhead State to obtain her Masters Degree in Special Education. She taught at the high school in Blue Earth, MN for 25 years. Her goal was to provide her students with the tools and confidence to succeed in life.
Survived by her son, Jay (Kara), brother Roderick (Joyce), nephews Rick, Mark, and niece, Melodee. Preceded in death by her parents, Ted and Josie (Haugen) Stave. Memorial service at Faith Lutheran Church on Saturday, October 22 at 1:00 pm, in New Effington, SD. Family prefers donations in her name to: LMSarcoma Direct Research Foundation, www.LMSdr.org, PO Box 52697, Tulsa, OK 74152.
Special thank you to Dr. Levi Downs and the nursing staff of the Women's Center at the U of MN for your support, dignity, and openness. She will be missed, but her spirit lives on in the lives she touched.
age 72, of Blue Earth, died Saturday, February 19, 2011 at her residence. She was surrounded by her husband and her children.
Memorial Services will be held on Thursday, February 24, 2011, at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Blue Earth at 1:30 p.m. with Rev. Wes Hafner officiating. Burial will follow at a later date at Lakeside Cemetery of Fairmont, Minnesota. Patton Funeral Home & Cremation Service of Blue Earth is assisting the family with the arrangements. Tributes may be left at www.pattonfh.com. Expressions of sympathy are preferred in the form of memorial donations to the Jeanne Larkin Scholarship Fund. Donations may be sent to the family residence at 413 South Nicollet Street, Blue Earth, Minnesota, 56013.
Jeanne was loved by so many and will be greatly missed. Her love of life was felt by all who knew her. She was always ready with a smile and a hug. She and her family were an example of courage and faith during the course of her battle with cancer. No more sorrow, no more tears, no more suffering, as she is now in the presence of God.
Jeanne was born the daughter of Emil Charles and Marie Amelia (Wiese) Koenck on December 22, 1938 in Kossuth County, Iowa. She was raised and educated in Pemberton and Welcome, Minnesota. Jeanne attended Truman Parochial School and graduated from Welcome High School in 1956 as Salutatorian. She married Larry Lee Larkin on August 23, 1959 at Immanuel Lutheran, in Fairmont. Following their marriage they lived in Fairmont, Cannon Falls, and Welcome, Minnesota as well as Britt, Iowa, and later Blue Earth, MN.
Jeanne worked for 31 years as a High School Secretary at Blue Earth High School, retiring January 9, 2001. Earlier in her life she worked for 3M, ASCS in Fairmont, and for BrittTech in Britt, Iowa. She will be missed by all who knew and loved her, including the thousands of students and staff whose lives she touched at Blue Earth High School.
Jeanne is survived by her husband, Larry Lee Larkin of Blue Earth; her two daughters Kathy (Kris) Larkin of Green Bay, WI; Laurie (Dean) Schons of Gaylord, MN; her son, Dan (Mary) Larkin of Idyllwild, CA; granddaughter Lindsay Franke; grandson, Tyler Franke; step granddaughter Abby (Travis) Fritsvold; step grandson, Blake Schons; her brothers and sisters, Eileen (Lyle) Geer, Robert (Barbara) Koenck, Loyal (Susie) Koenck, Larry Koenck, David (Kathy) Koenck, and Kay (Chuck) Steinberg. Jeanne was preceded in death by her parents and her brothers, William, Paul, Merlyn, and her sister, Gail.
Peter Mark Lindberg,age 79, of Blue Earth, died Thursday, February 10, 2011 at St. Luke's Lutheran Care Center in Blue Earth. Memorial services will be held at 11:00 AM on Monday, February 14, 2011 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Blue Earth. Visitation will be from 2:00 to 6:00 PM on Sunday at St. Luke's Lutheran Care Center in Blue Earth. Patton Funeral Home & Cremation Services is assisting the family with the arrangements. Web tributes may be left at www.pattonfh.com. Expressions of sympathy are preferred in the form of memorial donations to the Peter Lindberg Fellowship Fund 1200 Oak Knoll Court, Blue Earth, MN 56013; an educational fund for students exploring foreign languages. This was written by Pete in February 1996 just 2 weeks prior to suffering a debilitating stroke.
Peter Mark Lindberg, was born in Hordville, Nebraska, on the morning of March 1, 1931, to Hortense Dorothy (Larson) Lindberg and Paul Martin Immanuel Lindberg. The time of birth was in the forenoon of a Sunday, thus necessitating one of the lay deacons taking over the church services because Rev. Paul Lindberg's place at this time was by his wife's bedside.
In 1935, Peter, or Mark as he was called by family, moved to Wahoo, Nebraska with his family where Paul Lindberg was called to be the president of "Luther Junior College Academy". The family moved to St.Paul, Minnesota in 1941 where Peter attended public grade school and upon reaching grade nine enrolled in Minnihaha Academy, Minneapolis. In 1945, the family moved to Rock Island, Illinois. Dr. Paul Lindberg became a member of the faculty at the Augustana Seminary. Peter attended the local public high school, enrolled in grade ten.
Peter then attended Luther College in Wahoo for his junior and senior years of academy. During the school year of 1949-1950, Peter took a break from education and worked in the office of the Lutheran World Federation, in Frankfurt, Germany. He had accompanied his family to Germany where his father had been called to a two year position as Senior Field Representative of the Lutheran World Federation in Germany. It was at this time Peter began to develop a language skill in German.
He returned to the United Stated in time to start his freshman college year at Luther College. After his sophomore year he transferred to Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. Here he completed his last two years of college, graduating with a degree in German.
On January 29, 1954, one quarter before graduating, Peter married Maria Sophia Kuehner. During the summer of 1954 he joined the U S Air Force for a four year tour of duty. A twelve week basic training course was completed at the Sampson Air Force Base near Lake Genevia, New York. From there, Pete was transferred to Wichita Falls, Texas for specialized training in the field of military intelligence. On completing the course he was sent, because of his proficiency in German, to a tour of duty in Germany where he was stationed in Frankfurt, Berlin and Munich. His wife and young daughter, Lisa Marie, joined him after a few months and the family lived out the rest of the tour of duty in a rented house in the suburbs of Munich. While living in that house, Maria gave birth to Paul Michael.
Upon returning to the U S and being mustered out of the service, Peter, with his wife and two children, moved to the Lake Minnetonka area of Minneapolis where he attended the University of Minnesota and Peter worked on his education credits for both undergraduate and graduate credits.
Upon being granted a Minnesota Teaching Certificate he applied for and obtained a job as a German teacher in the Blue Earth High School, Blue Earth, Minnesota. Here he taught German, as well as Social Studies and Drivers' Training. In 1968, Peter was granted his Master's Degree through the University of Minnesota in the field of Foreign Language Education. In the subsequent years Peter and Maria were blessed with three more children, Conrad Peter, Sarah Luise, and Hanns Olaf. Peter continued teaching at Blue Earth until 1993 when he resigned his position and went into retirement. He continued enjoying work on his small hobby farm on the edge of Blue Earth, and together with Maria enjoyed traveling in Europe, where they had many friends, as well as around the U S where they visited children, grandchildren, friends and relatives. His family and close friends will also remember him for his love of the outdoors, music, appreciation for experiencing different cultures in Europe, his mischievous sense of humor and hard work ethic.
Services for Richard J. "Dick" Maher, 73, of Blue Earth will be 11 a.m. Thursday at Saint Peter and Paul Catholic Church, Blue Earth. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery, Blue Earth.
Maher died Sunday, May 2, 2010, at his home. Visitation will be 4-8 p.m. today at Patton Funeral Home and Cremation Service, Blue Earth, and one hour prior to services at the church.
Richard J. Maher was the son of Leo and Hanora (Hurd) Maher of Lawler, Iowa. He served in the U.S. Air Force as a teletype operator at Hickam Field, Hawaii.
Survivors include: wife, Shirley; sons, John Maher of Austin, Mark Maher of Blue Earth and David Maher of Stafford, Va.; daughter, Michele Ritter of Blue Earth; 10 grandchildren; one great-granddaughter.
Daniel Gilpin,62, of Blue Earth
The memorial service for Daniel Lewis Gilpin, of Blue Earth, will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, May 13, at the Blue Earth Area High School. Patton Funeral Home & Cremation Service of Blue Earth is handling the arrangements.
Dan died peacefully in his favorite chair at home on Friday, May 5, 2006. He was 62 years old.
Dan was born on Jan. 6, 1944, the son of Myron and Helen (Weeks) Gilpin. After being raised in Albert Lea, Dan was a long standing member of the Blue Earth community. Upon earning his degrees from Mankato State University and the University of Northern Iowa, Dan took a position with Blue Earth High School. He was a dedicated teacher for 35 years. He taught a vast array of subjects, his favorites being physics and chemistry.
Dan was an active community member and involved with the Blue Earth Light & Water Board, the BEA wrestling program and was a PTRA member. Scouting, nature, and conservation were important to Dan. He was an Eagle Scout and helped his son with Scouting.
People will remember Dan as someone who spent hours biking through Blue Earth, loving to visit with everyone, and adventuring the United States via camper, canoe, R.V., sailboat, automobile and, of course, bicycle.
Dan had a lifelong love of learning, exploring and analytical thinking. He was always in pursuit of discovering truths and exploring new ideas.
Throughout his life Dan was a hard-worker who had a wealth of life experiences. He was a handyman and was known to be able to fix anything. His family will remember his whistling, which was always a signal of his presence.
Dan lived his life in Blue Earth with his family including spouse, Karen (Noel) Gilpin, who he married on Dec. 21, 1968; two children, Tia (Matthew) Patrick of Richmond, Va., and Chad Gilpin of Annapolis, Md.; two sisters, Carol (David) Anderson of Harriman, Texas, and Ruth (Tom) Thomas of Denton, Texas; and two brothers, Paul (Linda) Gilpin of Des Moines, Iowa and Jay Gilpin of Del Ray Beach, Fla.
Dan was a devoted husband and father, who treasured his family.
Should friends desire, expressions of sympathy may take the form of a donation to the Dan Gilpin Memorial Scholarship Fund that is being established.
Bob Steinke,Age 49 Steinke of Blue Earth died Monday, August 28, 2000, at his home, under the care of United Hands Hospice. He was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor in 1998.
Following cremation, Memorial services were held on Saturday, September 2 at 1:30 p.m, at the Blue Earth Area High School Gymnasium, with Rev. Mary Willis Mayes of Immanuel United Methodist Church, officiating. Burial of cremated remains will be in Riverside Cemetery, Blue Earth at a later date. Visitation time was Friday from 3-8 p.m. at Patton Funeral Home of Blue Earth.
He was born August 28, 1951, at Minneapolis, the son of Richard H. and Mary E. (Sanstead) Steinke.
He was raised and educated in Bloomington where he was a 1969 graduate of JFK High School. In 1973, he received his bachelors degree in Chemistry from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter. Following his graduation Bob began teaching physical science at Le Center. He was married to Nancy Reko on June 28, 1974, in St. Peter. After teaching seven years in Le Center, he moved east of Blue Earth where he farmed for five years. He resumed teaching in Elmore for five years before spending the last 10 years teaching 8th grade earth science at Blue Earth Area Schools. He was active with the school Peer Helping Program and coached the junior high hnowledge bowl.
Bob was an active member of Immanuel United Methodist Church in Blue Earth, where he was a lay leader. He also performed as part of the community theater groups in Blue Earth, Winnebago and Elmore. Bob was also a member of the Harmony Junction Barbershop Chorus, was a former member of the Royal Chislers Wood Carving Club and was a well-known local videographer.
He is survived by his wife: Nancy Steinke of Blue Earth, daughter: Katie Steinke of Fargo, ND, son: Peter Steinke of Blue Earth, son: Kurt Steinke of Blue Earth, Parents: Richard and Mary Steinke of Bloomington, sister: Rebecca Malone of Carlsbad, CA, sister: Beth Steinke of Bloomington, many aunts, uncles, cousins and two nieces and two nephews.
Age 26, of Mapleton, Minn., formerly of Iowa Falls, died after a long battle with cancer, Tuesday, April 11, 2000, at Immanuel-St. Joseph Hospital in Mankato, Minn. Services were held Friday, April 14 at the United Church in Mapleton with burial in the Union Cemetery in Mapleton, Minn. Rev. Joel Frederikson officiated. Memorials may be sent to her father, Tom Merklin, 13697 MM Ave., Iowa Falls, and will be forwarded to Hospice in Mankato.
Paige was born Feb. 13, 1974, in Iowa Falls. She attended grade school in Iowa Falls and graduated from Blue Earth High School, Blue Earth, Minn., in 1992. They moved to Mapleton in 1993. On Nov. 4, 1994, she married James Sunde in Milbank, S.D. She was a day care provider in her home and a member of the Blue Earth County Child/Care and Foster Care Association. Paige was active in the Amboy Area Snowbirds Snowmobile Club and was a member of the United Church in Mapleton.
Paige is survived by her husband, James; a daughter, Tayla and a son, Teagun, at home; two stepdaughters, Erica and Erin of Blue Earth; her father, Thomas Merklin and wife, Marlene, of Iowa Falls; her mother Rita Heetland and husband, Butch, of Fairmont; a brother, Todd Merklin and wife, Tammy, of Iowa Falls; a sister, Shanlee Zierke and husband, Greg, of Mankato; her grandfather, James Merklin and wife, Gladys, of Iowa Falls; half brothers, Tyler, Travis, and Terrance Prochaska of Iowa Falls; a half sister, Chantel Thate of Fairmont; and several aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her grandparents.
©Iowa Falls Times-Citizen 2004
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