Obituaries

Oct 21, 2024

Anita Louise Nelsen, age 78, of Byron, MN, passed away peacefully on October 21, 2024, at Fairview Care Center in Dodge Center, MN. She was born on July 18, 1946, in Rochester, MN, to Lawrence and Arlene (Petersen) Larsen.

Anita graduated from Byron High School and dedicated her career to accounting, working for Midwest Fuels until her...

Sep 26, 2024

Loren Roger Wheeler, 80, of rural Byron, passed away peacefully at the Mayo Clinic, St. Marys campus on Thursday, September 26, 2024, with family near.

Loren was born in Mitchell County, Iowa, at home on the family farm on January 5, 1944 to Clyde and R. Dolores Wheeler of McIntire, Iowa. Loren proudly served in the US...

Aug 24, 2024

Joseph Stanley Mathias, 88, of Byron, passed away Saturday, August 24, 2024, at The Mayo Clinic, St. Marys campus.

Joe was born December 8, 1935 in Wabasha, MN to Louis and Margaret (Koemel) Mathias. He attended Wabasha schools and then proudly served in the US Army. On October 19, 1963, Joe married Mary Jo Traufler in Chatfield,...

Aug 11, 2024

May 22, 1926 – August 11, 2024

Ruth Odys Brooks passed away peacefully surrounded by family on August 11, 2024. She was born on May 22nd, 1926 to Olga and Clarence Jetson and grew up in Spring Grove, MN alongside her siblings.

In 1946, Ruth obtained her Elementary Teaching Certificate from Winona State Teachers College....

Jul 12, 2024

Keven Paul Newton passed away Friday, July 12, 2024, at his home. Keven was born on June 8th, 1949, in Grand Rapids, Minnesota to Clyde and Glenice Newton. Keven graduated from Faribault high school in 1967. Shortly after graduation he entered the Marine Corp where he served for 2 years with the India Company 37 in Vietnam.  There he...

Jul 10, 2024

Diana Mae Leonhardt, 85, of Byron MN was called by her heavenly father and died on July 10, 2024 at Mayo Clinic Hospital in Rochester, MN.

Diana was born on March 6, 1939 in Winona, MN to Carl and Velma Clardy. She graduated from Winona High School and married James Leonhardt on July 11, 1959. She and...

Jul 6, 2024

Lawrence (Larry) Eugene King passed away peacefully on July 6, 2024, at the age of 86 in Rochester, MN. He was born on March 26, 1938, to Albert and Margaret (Maggie) King of Racine, MN, and was the oldest of 5 children, Albert Dale , Marlys Anderson, Darrol King , and Carol Aswegan .

Larry attended grade...

Jun 29, 2024

Patricia May Christenson passed away on June 29th, 2024 at Fairview Care Center in Dodge Center, MN. Patty was born in 1938 to Norman and Leala (Searles) Larsen in Byron, Minnesota, and graduated from Byron High School and Minnesota School of Business.

In her early years, she worked at IBM and served on a rural school board....

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.

...

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...