Obituaries

Apr 27, 2024

James "Jim" Gronvold was born on November 18, 1952, to Harvey & Lenora Gronvold. He spent his youth on the farm in rural Byron. Jim graduated high school in 1971 from Byron Consolidated Schools. In 1973, Jim graduated from St Paul College in Culinary Arts; he worked for Rochester Schools until his retirement in May of 2019.

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Apr 23, 2024

Dennis Earl Kleinwort, 75, of Byron, MN, died Tuesday, April 23, 2024, of natural causes at his home.

Dennis was born January 17, 1949, in Stewartville, MN, to Earl and Caroline (Neumann) Kleinwort. He graduated from Byron High School in 1967, and after graduation, hauled milk for the Rock Dell Creamery. On September 20, 1969, he married...

Apr 4, 2024

Lewis Newman, beloved husband, father, grandfather, and musician, passed away on April 4, 2024, at the age of 78. Born on May 29, 1945, to Mabel Curler and Charles F. Newman, Lewis was raised in Fall Creek, WI.

After graduating from Fall Creek High School in 1963, Lewis embarked on a journey of service, joining the United...

Feb 9, 2024

James R. Smith,91, of Byron/Rochester, MN died February 9, 2024 at Cottagewood, Rochester, MN.

Jim was born October 20, 1932, in Rock Dell, MN to Noal and Olga (Thorson) Smith. When he was 2 yrs. old, the family moved to the family farm in Salem township where he lived until he was 89 years old. On August...

Feb 8, 2024

Janice Rathlisberger, age 68, of Byron, MN, went to meet her maker on February 8, 2024, at Fairview Care Center in Dodge Center.

Janice was born July 17, 1955 in Hastings, MN to Donald and Doris (Miller) Fiedler. She graduated from Park High School in Cottage Grove in 1973. She married Russell Rathlisberger on July 14, 1973...

Jan 14, 2024

Charles E. (Chuck) Glarner, 94, of Kasson, MN, died Sunday, January 14, 2024, at Mayo Clinic Hospital Methodist Campus.

Charles was born April 14, 1929, in Mantorville, MN to Virgil and Aletha (Steele) Glarner. He went to rural school in Milton Township for elementary education and graduated from Mantorville High School in 1947.

He attended...

Dec 31, 2023

Clayton Ralph Carstensen, 93, of Crosby, MN (formerly of Kasson, MN) passed away on December 31, 2023 at Twin Ports Care Center in Superior, Wisconsin.

Clayton was born on December 14, 1930 in Dodge Center, MN to Nels and Effie (Holt) Carstensen. Clayton served in the US Army from September 1950 to 1953 as a Sergeant in...

Dec 20, 2023

Mable Amanda Bale, 96, died Wednesday, Dec 20, 2023 at Samaritan Bethany Nursing Home in Rochester, Minnesota. Mable was born September 8th, 1927 in Rock Dell to Magnus and Edna Vicker. She was born and raised in the rural Rock Dell and Byron area. She attended country school and then worked hard caring for her parents.

She...

Dec 15, 2023

Ruth Elsa Carstensen, age 89, of Salem Township, Minnesota, passed away surrounded by family at her home on Dec. 15, 2023.

Ruth was born in Friesenheim, Germany on July 27, 1934 to Hermann and Magdalena Lieber. She came to the United States in 1954. She married Lyle Carstensen on May 15, 1965 and they made their home...

Dec 13, 2023

Dale Eugene Christenson, 90, of Rochester, passed away Wednesday, December 13, 2023 at The Mayo Clinic, Methodist Hospital.

Dale was born June 11, 1933 to Milo and Alice (Tangen) Christenson on a farm near Ostrander, MN. Dale attended rural elementary school and he graduated from Spring Valley High School and the University of Minnesota School of Agriculture....

Dec 10, 2023

Rosemary passed away from natural causes on Sunday, December 10, 2023 at Timberdale Trace in Owatonna, Minnesota. She was four months shy of her 98 th birthday. Rosemary was born in Spring Valley, Minnesota on March 7 th , 1926.

Rosemary lived a long life. She was an avid equestrian, helped her husband with truck driving, was...

Dec 9, 2023

Alton Arthur Cordes, 72, of Byron, Minnesota died just before midnight on Saturday, December 9, 2023. After a long battle with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) , he died at home with his family present.

While he struggled with COPD, Alton had an opportunity to reflect on and write the following words:

"I was born...

Nov 6, 2023

Patricia L. Smith, 91, of Byron/Rochester died 11/6/2023 at Madonna Meadows, Rochester, MN.

Pat was born August 28, 1932, in Mantorville, MN to Winfield and Emma (Carlier) Moulton. She graduated from Byron High School in 1950. On August 19, 1950, she married James R. Smith, and they moved to the family farm in Salem Township where they...

Oct 13, 2023

Lois Marie Douglas, of Byron, MN, passed away peacefully on Friday, October 13th, 2023 at Seasons Hospice. She was 87 years old.

Lois was born October 5th, 1936, in Riceville, IA to William and Marie (Buchmeyer) Fuoss. She graduated from Riceville High School in 1954 and was married to Donald Douglas on June 5th, 1954. Lois made...

Oct 10, 2023

Lorraine Evelyn Ness, age 93, of Kasson, went home to be with her Lord and Savior on October 10, 2023, at Field Crest Care Center in Hayfield, Minnesota.

Lorraine was born on March 19, 1930, to Harvey and Berdina (Ohm) Boysen in Mower County. She attended country schools in both Mower and Dodge Counties and Hayfield High...

Sep 7, 2023

Faye Sawyer Garbina, 81 of Byron, formerly a longtime resident of Albert Lea, passed away peacefully on Thursday, September 7, 2023 in Byron, MN.

Faye was born November 26, 1941 in Lillington, NC to James Arthur and Beatrice Sudie (Marshburn) Sawyer.  After graduating high school, Faye went to work as a secretary for the plumber and pipefitters...

Aug 30, 2023

Janice (Jan) Schmidt Longmuir, 76, of Byron, MN died Wednesday, August 30, 2023 at her home after a brief and courageous battle with cancer.

Jan was born June 26, 1947 in Oelwein, Iowa to Alfred and Margaret (Lauck) Schmidt where she grew up on the family farm with her siblings Duane and Dorothy.  Eventually, she was in...

Aug 17, 2023

Betty Marilyn (Adamson) Prigge, age 91, of Byron passed away peacefully at home on Thursday August 17, 2023 surrounded by family.

Betty was born to Paul and Mildred (Mahon) Adamson on January 10, 1932 on the family farm near Byron, Minnesota.  Betty attended Olmsted County School District #26, a one room rural school for eight years and...

Aug 14, 2023

Alfred John Dols, 81, of Byron, MN, died Monday August 14, 2023.

Alfred was born May 29, 1942 in Minneapolis MN to Alfred and Alice Dols.  He served in the army from 1962-1966. Alfred received a degree in automotive mechanics from Dunwoody and was employed as a heavy equipment mechanic for the DNR. On September 22, 1973,...

Jul 6, 2023

Thomas Patrick Murphy left this world on July 6, 2023, at the age of 89. He will be sadly missed and will always hold a place in our hearts.

Tom enjoyed his time overseas during the service and could fix just about anything. He worked at Montgomery Wards for 33 years until he was 60 years old....