Obituaries

John Alan Terry, 89, of Lindstrom, Minnesota, passed away peacefully on January 31, 2025. Born on June 12, 1935, in Slayton, Minnesota, John lived a life defined by devotion to his family, faith and community.

Rosemary C. Hoffman, age 97, of Wilmont, died Saturday, January 18, 2025, at the Sanford Luverne Medical Center. She was born December 1, 1927, in Wilmont Township, to Jake and Mary (Von Holtum) Fath. She attended St. Kilian School. Rosemary helped out at home, waitressed, and helped in different homes as a “hired girl” to help with the general housework until she was married.

Leisha Lavoie was born on September 2, 1960, in Murray County, Minnesota to Robert and Sharon Cox Lavoie. She grew up in the Slayton area and graduated from Slayton High School in 1979. Leisha made her home in Slayton where she raised her daughter, April. Leisha was a resident of South Shore Care Center in Worthington, MN for many years. She passed away at the Sanford Hospital in Worthington on February 14, 2025, at the age of 64. She was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Slayton. Leisha enjoyed coloring, playing games on her tablet, listening to music, and NASCAR racing.

The funeral service for Melvin Bowman, 47, of Marshall, will be at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 18, 2025, at the Horvath Remembrance Center in Marshall. A livestream and recording of the service will be available at www.horvathfuneralservice. com. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service. A private family interment will take place at a later date.

Marian Ouverson Mulder was born on May 5, 1923, to Sumner Low Clarke and Millie Bachman Clarke on a farm south of Westbrook, MN. She was preceded in death by her parents and 4 brothers, Lester, Kenneth (Thelma), Raymond, and Donald (Betty), Allen Ouverson (1st husband) and Ralph Mulder (2nd husband). Being the only girl, she climbed trees, hunted, ice skated, and played pranks with her brothers. She walked to a country school and later went to high school in Westbrook. She skipped 3rd grade, which she loved to tell us all. Because of that she was able to graduate early and attend college at Bethel in the cities to become a teacher at 19. At that time, she could get a 2-year lifetime teacher’s license. Years later she got her 4-year teaching degree at Mankato. Her first teaching job was in Waseca, MN. Her roommate and fellow teacher were dating someone who had a brother. This is when she met Carlos Allen Ouverson. He was a sailor from Fertile, Iowa and they would later marry on December 12,1943. Marian was a war bride. She took a train to Norfolk, Virginia. It was a typical love story of that time. She was told that if Allen didn’t come home in 3 days that meant he was shipped off to war and she should go back to Westbrook. Together they had 3 children, Jim Ouverson (Luverne), Judy Harms (Slayton), and Debbie Belmont (California). After farming in Fertile after the war, they moved to a farm near Hadley, MN and farmed until Allen passed. Marian taught country school near Hadley (Leeds Township), then taught in Hadley, and finished her teaching career in Slayton till she retired in 1988. She was known for dressing up every day with heels and jewelry. Her handwriting was impeccable, and she taught hundreds of kids cursive writing. She was honored to be named Teacher of the Year and later Retired Teacher of the Year. She was a dedicated teacher. Her first husband passed in 1991. She had a house built in Slayton and moved into town. She met a nice gentleman form Colorado, Ralph Mulder. They were married in 1996 and had almost 10 years together. He passed in 2006. Marian was able to live in her home until she was 95. She then moved to Maple Lawn in Fulda. Some of Marian’s favorite things were, sewing dresses for her girls, baking apple pie, bread, and desserts. Hospitality was her gift. She loved making meals for missionaries, church friends, and family. She loved her family, church friends, Bible study friends, fellow teachers, and her dogs. It was her prayer that all her kids, grandkids, and great, grands would know and love Jesus. She was a remarkable daughter, sister, wife, mom, grandma, great grandma, and great, great grandma who was loved and respected by all. She accepted Jesus as her Savior as a child and is now with her heavenly Father.

Gay Metz was born on April 13, 1922, in Murray County, Minnesota to Raymond and Malo Norton. She grew up on farms in the Dundee and Westbrook, MN area. Gay attended University Farm School in Minneapolis, MN. On January 29, 1944, she and Lyeon Podenski were married in Minneapolis, MN. Following their marriage, they made their home in Slayton and raised their four children. Gay later attended Sioux Falls Beauty Academy in Sioux Falls, SD. She owned and operated Gay’s Beauty Shops in Slayton, Currie, Chandler, and Brewster. Gay closed the shops and took a job with the State of Minnesota inspecting Beauty Shops. Lyeon passed away on November 6, 1978. Gay later went to work for the REA Office. In November 1980 she and Raphael “Ray” Metz were married at St. Ann’s Church in Slayton. Following their marriage they farmed north of Hadley, MN. Gay retired 2000 when they moved to Slayton. In February 2024 they moved to Lindenwood Assisted Living in Slayton. Gay passed away there on Friday, February 7, 2025, at the age of 102. She was a member of St. Ann’s’ Church in Slayton. She was a member of the Slayton American Legion Auxiliary, the Slayton VFW Auxiliary, and the Hadley Lioness. Gay loved bowling and golfing and in participated many tournaments over the years. Gay enjoyed spending time with family, ceramics, bowling, golfing, and gardening.

Alice Mae Rosengren, age 92, formerly of Slayton, passed away Friday, January 31, 2025 at Prairie Home Fieldcrest, Assisted Living and Hospice in Cottonwood. A family gathering is being planned for a later date at Lake Sarah Baptist Church in Slayton. Any memorial should be sent to a Hospice of your choice. Please support Hospice as they do so much for our lives.

Mert Brown was born on March 26, 1946, in Wilmont, Minnesota to Paul and Mary Ann “Babe” Schettler Platt. She grew up in Wilmont until 1955 when the family moved to Iona, MN. Mert graduated from St. Columba High School in 1964. On March 15, 1975, she and John Brown were married in Las Vegas, NV. Following their marriage, they made their home in Denver, CO, Malmo, MN, Las Vegas, NV, Iona, MN, Mesa, AZ and eventually ending up in Slayton, MN. Mert worked as a bookkeeper and insurance agent for many years in Aitkin, MN. In 2022 Mert moved to the Good Samaritan Society in Westbrook, MN. Due to failing health she moved to Our House Hospice Home in Slayton on January 3, 2025. She passed away there on Saturday, February 8, 2025, at the age of 78. She was an active member of St. Columba Church in Iona having served on the Church Council as well as many duties behind the scenes. Mert served as Mayor of Iona for 1 term. Mert enjoyed spending time with family, reading, embroidering, needle work, quilting, shopping, and her roses.

Funeral service for Holly Christine Bakker, 49, of Tracy, MN will take place on Saturday, February 8, 2025 at Tracy Lutheran Church beginning at 10:30 a.m. Public visitation will held on Friday, February 7, 2025 at the Horvath Remembrance Center in Tracy from 4:00 – 8:00 p.m. with a prayer service beginning at 7:00 p.m. Visitation will continue Saturday morning at Tracy Lutheran beginning at 9:30 a.m. Burial will take place at the Tracy City Cemetery following the funeral service. Upon conclusion of the graveside service a luncheon will be provided at Tracy Lutheran.

Richard Carl Teig was born to Ernest and Dorothy Zimmer Teig in Slayton, MN on October 10, 1954. After a short bout with cancer, he passed away on December 27, 2024 at Sanford Hospital in Sioux Falls, SD. He lived most of his life in Slayton but did spend several periods of time in the Phoenix area.