Obituaries

Janet Grace Kirchner was born on March 23, 1948, in Marshall to Marcel and Theresa (Boerboom) Louwagie. She attended Holy Redeemer Grade School and Central Catholic High School in Marshall, graduating in 1966. Janet met Paul Kirchner at Valhalla Ballroom in June of 1969, and they were united in marriage at St. Clotilde Catholic Church in Green Valley, MN, on March 30, 1970. The couple raised six children while running a successful tire and rim business and farming near Dundee. Over the years, Janet enjoyed sewing, quilting, machine embroidery, canning, and gardening. She loved her children and grandchildren and shared her love of sewing with them, making clothing and projects together, including coin purses, pillowcases, and placemats. Janet was very involved in 4-H for many years and received the Outstanding 4-H Leader award. She especially looked forward to attending an annual sewing conference with her daughters, which evolved into an annual shopping weekend with her daughters and daughters-in-law, where many memories were made and laughs shared. She was active at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Dundee, where she was a lifelong member. In 2009, they moved closer to Fulda and built a new home with a dedicated sewing room. They were married for 56 wonderful years at the time of her death.

Ronald “Buzz” Oscar Baumhoefner, the son of Oscar and Lillian (Kahler) Baumhoefner, was born on October 8, 1942, in Martin County, MN. He grew up on a farm and later the family moved to a farm near Wilmont, MN. Buzz attended grade school in Reading and graduated from Worthington High School in 1960. He was united in marriage to Wanda Christians on September 21, 1963, at the First Presbyterian Church in Fulda. After their marriage they lived on the family farm. He served for 6 years in the Minnesota National Guard. Buzz farmed his entire life and drove truck for Sather’s and Larry Pederson Trucking and did custom spraying. In August of 2022 they moved to Luverne, MN. They wintered in Texas for many years. Buzz passed away on Wednesday, April 22, 2026, at his home in Luverne at the age of 83. He was a member of the Immanuel Lutheran Church and served as the Sunday School Superintendent. He was also a past Nobles County 4-H Director and a member of the Worthington Stockers Car Club. He liked playing cards, shooting pool, working on word searches, and spending quality time with his family. His family also recognized him for being a natural “supervisor and delegator.”

Funeral services for Janet Kirchner, 78, of Fulda, MN will be 10:30 AM on Thursday, April 30, 2026, at St. Gabriel’s Catholic Church in Fulda. MN. Visitation will be Wednesday April 29, 2026, from 4 to 7 PM at St. Gabriel’s Catholic Church in Fulda and one hour prior to the service at the church on Thursday. Mrs. Kirchner passed away on Monday, April 20, 2026, at the Sioux Falls Sanford Medical Center in Sioux Falls, SD. Burial will be at St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery in Dundee, MN. The Totzke Funeral Home in Fulda is assisting the family with arrangements.

Edna Catherine Lyons, the daughter of Hilary and Elizabeth (Determan) Galles, was born on July 24, 1932, in Wilmont, MN. She grew up in Wilmont and attended Our Lady of Good Council School, graduating in 1950. After graduating, Edna worked with her father in the family hardware store in Wilmont. She was united in marriage to Duane Lyons on September 21, 1954, at Our Lady of Good Council Church in Wilmont. After their marriage they lived in Dundee, MN. She was a stay-at-home mom until her children were older and then worked at Dundee Steel as a bookkeeper and later at Marv’s Hardware and Appel’s Hardware in Fulda. She was also very active with the Dundee Senior Citizen Center serving as one of the officers. She served on the Dundee Nothing Days food committee and was an election official for many years. She enjoyed flower gardening, gathering wildflowers to make bouquets, sewing, baking and quilting, but her main joy was caring for her family. She was a wonderful hostess for all the holiday celebrations. The annual fish and turtle fry in the garage were always well attended by friends from Dundee. She remained at their home after Duane died in May of 1992. Edna passed away on Saturday, April 18, 2026, at Sanford Worthington Medical Center at the age of 93. She was a member of St. Gabriel’s Catholic Church and former member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Dundee.

Merlyn Anderson was born December 24, 1941, in Slayton, Minnesota to Otto “Minard” and Ethel Vihlen Anderson. He grew up in Slayton and South Dakota graduating from Goodwin High School in 1959. Merlyn then attended Yankton College, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1964. He continued his education at the University of South Dakota (USD) where he earned a Master of Arts degree in educational psychology in 1965. After his military service in 1966 and 1967 he served as a guidance counselor at the Freeman, South Dakota Public Schools and worked as a social worker for the South Department of Welfare. Merlyn then decided to pursue a career in law, graduating from USD with a JD degree in 1972. From 1973 to 1979, he worked as a lawyer and city attorney for several cities in the Roy K. Rietz Law Office in Slayton, MN until the death of Roy K. Rietz in 1979. He then began working at a solo practitioner and continued serving as Slayton city attorney, he also served as Murray County attorney. Merlyn served a total of 20 years of military service, retiring in 2005. During his 20 years of military service, he was stationed on the Army bases at Fort Lewis, WA and Fort Ord, CA in 1966 and 1967. After his active military service, he joined the South Dakota Army National Guard Military Band in 1968 and served until 1972. He completed 20 years of military service by joining the United States Army Reserve (USAR), serving from 1991 to 2005, and then retiring. Merlyn has been a member of the American Bar Association and Minnesota Bar Association where he served as a past secretary-treasurer of the 13th District of the Minnesota Bar Association. Merlyn was honored with the Distinguished Worldwide Humanitarian Award (2019) and was a recipient of the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award (2019). He was an honoree of the Outstanding Young Men of America (1976) and featured in the International Register of Profiles. Merlyn has also been included in multiple editions of Who’s Who in Executives and Professionals, Who’s Who in American Law, Who’s Who in the Midwest, Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in the World and The Top Attorneys of North America. Merlyn passed away on Sunday, April 12, 2026, at the Sanford Hospital in Sioux Falls, SD at the age of 84.

Larry Garland was born April 25,1943, to Orval and Ethel Miller Garland in Bertha, Minnesota. He attended Lincoln Elementary School in Staples, Minnesota and graduated from Staples High School in 1961. Larry attended St. Cloud State College in St. Cloud, MN, graduating in 1965. On August 7,1965, he was united in marriage to Joyce Smith at the Alliance Church in Staples. They moved to Slayton, MN where Larry taught Trigonometry and Algebra at Slayton High School, he also coached seventh/eighth grade football. He furthered his education and became the Computer Coordinator at the high school, setting up computer labs and teaching computer classes. He also taught computer courses at Worthington Junior College. He enjoyed sports and was the score keeper for the basketball team for many years. Larry was honored for his explementary teaching with the teacher of the year award in 1994. Larry started his own construction business, he built many homes in the Slayton and surrounding areas during the summer months, which also provided employment for his teacher co-workers and some of his students. He built a dentist office and a house for his brother in Staples. He assisted with the construction of the Lake Sarah Baptist Church in rural Slayton MN. Larry was a member of the Slayton Assembly of God Church and served as a Board Member and Treasurer. He became a member of the Lake Sarah Baptist Church where he served as a Trustee. Larry went home to be with his Lord and Savior on April 18, 2026.

Ludema Dell (Hollingsworth) Kassel, age 103, of Tracy, formerly of Holly Township, passed away peacefully surrounded by family on Saturday April 11, 2026 at Prairie View Senior Living in Tracy under the care of Hospice of Murray County. A Celebration of Life will be held at 11:00 a.m. Friday, April 17 at Walnut Grove United Methodist Church. Visitation will be held from 4:007:00 p.m. Thursday, April 16 at Walnut Grove Funeral Home and will continue one hour prior to services at the church. A private interment will be held in the Walnut Grove Cemetery. Online condolences may be sent at www.stephensfuneralservice. Service – Walnut Grove Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements.

Marvin Arnold Arneson, passed away peacefully on March 25, 2026, at the age of 82. Marvin was born on May 20,1943, in Dawson, Minnesota, to Arnold and Marie (Hofseth) Arneson.

Joan Vasgaard was born July 2, 1948, to Norris and Iola (Gubrud) Kurtz. She went to see her Lord on April 10, 2026. She was greeted by her son, Dr. Joel Vasgaard. Joan loved living on the family farm near Elkton, SD and spent much of her time outdoors helping her father. She often talked about her early education in a one room schoolhouse called Parnel #9. Before her 8th grade year, the family moved to Hawarden, IA where Joan quickly adapted to the city life. The family later returned to Elkton where she graduated from Elkton High in 1966. Joan continued her education at SDSU graduating in 1970. While at college she worked at the housing office, played in the marching band all 4 years, pep band at home games, and was an RA at Pierson Hall for several years. Her senior year she joined a Joyfolk singing group at the University Student Center where she met her future husband. In the summer of 1970, she worked at Wilderness Canoe Center as a guide and counselor. She loved her time in the wilderness and forest. In 1971, she married John “Chuck” Vasgaard and the couple had almost 55 years of marriage. They lived in Baltic, SD for about 7 years. They were members of Baltic Lutheran Church. Joan started the children’s choir, and they performed musicals. She taught Sunday School, Bible School, sang in choir, and started an outdoor nativity pageant in a farmer’s barn. In March 1977, they moved to an acreage near Lake Wilson, MN. The family acreage always housed a variety of animals and Joan always had a big garden and shared her harvest with others. In 1997, Joan started to plan and designed a new family home, which the family built. Joan led an active and busy life being a wife, mother, and grandmother. She also was Cub Scout Leader for several packs. She helped start the Lake Wilson Community Theater, which did musicals each summer for 10 years. She played in community bands. She was on the Prairie Music Board. Joan was a Rural Mail Carrier for 17 years out of the Slayton Post Office. She developed many friendships and many experiences in that job. After her retirement she and Chuck took several bus trips as well as a trip to Switzerland. At the start of the COVID shut down, Sillerud Lutheran Church assigned to some of its members the task of writing to those elderly who could not attend. She started out with 7 and that number soon grew to about 28 letters a month. Leading to a devotion letter she created weekly and send out. Joan never missed a chance to make a new friend or make someone feel special. Her bubbly smile and warm personality will be missed.

Allan Leroy Woitaszewski, age 82, died on April 11, 2026, with family members at his side at Gable Pines Senior Living in Vadnais Heights, Minnesota. Allan was born in Slayton, Minnesota on March 17, 1944, to Dennis and Cornelia Woitaszewski.