Swanson Peterson Funeral Home

Our family matriarch, Alice Swanson, passed away on Sunday, January 21, 2024 in Cokato, MN. Alice was a rock of positivity, always seeing a half-full glass, even when it was nearly empty. Her life was a model of kindness and she showered her family with unconditional love and understanding.

Alice LaRoe Batcher was born to Ray and Tressie Batcher, on July 30, 1926, in Staples, MN. After graduating from high school, she studied nursing at Hamline College in St Paul. She was working as an x-ray technician when she met Gordon E. Swanson. They were married on September 11,1948. Alice had dreams of being a fashion designer in Paris but focused on designing a fabulous family. She and Gordy moved all the way out to Golden Valley, MN where they built a home and raised 9 children on some spit and love (Seriously, how did they manage?)

Alice was a mom and a damn good one (sorry for the profanity Mom, but the fact needs emphasis and an exclamation point was not enough.) She did things like pack extra food in Gordon’s lunchbox so he could share the leftovers with the kids when he got home from work. She never wanted the last piece of anything and always thought our ideas were excellent – even Wayne’s request for liver and onions which she cooked, even though she didn’t like it.

In the 80’s and 90’s, Alice and Gordy were able to travel in style thanks to LaRoe’s airline passes. They flew coast to coast, sometimes just going to the airport to see which flight they could grab. They enjoyed lunch in Toronto, foggy visits to Seattle, buffets in Las Vegas, cherry blossoms in DC and the beaches of Grand Cayman.

After the kids flew the nest, Alice and Gordon moved to a small town near Little Falls where they had a little house with a very welcoming garden and backyard. Alice’s birthday became a family holiday with all the kids and grandkids making the trip to Flensburg every July to celebrate with a picnic.

A move to Howard Lake in the 90’s meant they were closer to family. After Gordon’s health required a move to a long-term care facility, Alice moved into Brookridge Assisted Living in Cokato. Her sun filled little studio overlooked the golf course and was attached to Gordon’s facility, allowing her to walk over for visits and meals until he passed on December 24, 2016. The assisted living community became her home and her children are grateful for the care and comfort she received from the staff there.

Alice is survived by her 9 children, LaRoe Swanson (Bill Wolfe), Beverly Elmshauser, Becky Scharber (Richard), Wayne Swanson (Sylvia), Cindy Swanson (David Athey), Dale Swanson (Cheryl), Doug Swanson, Lyle Swanson, Lori Yerbich (Julian). Grandchildren Erik Elmshauser, Elyssa Wanek (Dave), Joe Scharber (Nicole), Jean Houston (Matt), Scott Athey (Sydney), Sam Athey (Megan), Greg Swanson (Amanda), Emmy Logeais (Mark), Nick Swanson (Stefanie), Allison Holthaus (Ben), Zach Swanson (Brittany), Jacob Swanson, Sydney Swanson, Matt Swanson, Amanda Kenney (John), Alex Yerbich (Grace Welton), Jai Yerbich, Sophia Yerbich. 28 great-grandchildren.

Alice is preceded in death by her husband Gordon E. Swanson, brother David L. Batcher, son-in-law Steven Elmshauser and daughter-in-law Lori Swanson.

Lately, Alice was very stressed about so many people hungry and without shelter and would love a tribute gift in her name to Second Harvest Heartland: https://www.2harvest.org/get-involved/donate-money/tribute-gift

A memorial for Alice will be held in the spring of 2024 at the First Presbyterian Church in Howard Lake with date and time to be announced.

Ernest Stanley Lantto (Ernie or Stan) is off on his greatest adventure at 92. He died on January 16th, 2024 in Dassel, MN. A green burial was held at Steeleville Cemetery the following Friday.

Ernie was born on April 3, 1931 in French Lake, MN to Ernest B. Lantto and Emma J. Rokala. After graduating from Annandale High School in 1948, he attended Gustavus Adolphus College and graduated in 1952 with a degree in Mathematics.

He married Louise A. Granath in Dassel on September 13, 1953. Ernie and Louise first lived in Dayton, Ohio while serving in the US Air Force at Wright Patterson Air Force base where Ernie was involved in the Air Force’s first deployment of computers. They later moved to St. Louis Park, MN where Ernie began his career as a computer engineer for Univac. In 1971, the family moved to Europe as Univac had transferred him there. The family lived in The Hague, Netherlands and the Bonn, West Germany metro area. They spent summers traveling across Europe in a Volkswagen camper van. This sparked Ernie’s passion for traveling the world, eventually visiting 43 countries and even traveling to Europe and Costa Rica in his 90s. He was an adventurer, always willing to try the food and learn about the local culture. The family returned from Europe in 1976 to the same home they had left in 1971.

Ernie retired from Univac in 1988, after purchasing Louise’s childhood farm home in rural Dassel. He loved renewing the property and caring for the land and its wildlife. He thrived on reconnecting and learning about the people where he grew up. Ernie will be remembered for his story telling and undying love of his Finnish heritage. He was active in the local Finnish-American Genealogical Society and helped build Temperance Corner north of Cokato. For over 30 years, Ernie took pride in caring for Steelesville and Riverside Cemeteries as their Sexton. He was an active member of the Gethsemane Lutheran Church in Dassel, as well as a member of the Kingston American Legion Post #483.

Ernie was a devoted husband to his wife, Louise, personally caring for her night and day the last 5 years of her life as she suffered the ravages of dementia and Parkinson’s disease.

Ernie is survived by sons, Eric (Patricia) and Samuel, daughter Julia Hansen (Jeffrey), nine grandchildren, five great grandchildren, siblings Mary Sharon Bekkala, Katherine Johnson, Judy Byman, Chris Lantto as well as many nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his wife Louise, daughter Karen Willcox, son Orville, grandchildren Stanton Willcox and Genevieve Lantto, and siblings Paul, John, Charlotte Peterson, Reuben, Carol Schacht and Greta Meade.

A memorial for Ernie will be held in the spring of 2024 in Dassel with date and time to be announced.

Charles “Chuck” Morell Forslin was born at a very young age to Laurence and Marjorie (Morell) Forslin in Grandy, Minnesota on March 6, 1939. As a young teenager, he was baptized at the Elim Baptist Church in Minneapolis. Chuck graduated from Robbinsdale Senior High School with a letter in swimming and as a member of the National Honor Society. He attended Bethel College for a year and finally graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1967 with a degree in teaching Industrial Arts.

On October 21, 1961 he married Marlit Neumann in Minneapolis. Marlit is the mother of his daughters and a native of Germany. After his college graduation, they moved to Dassel where the intent was to teach for a couple years and then move on to bigger and better things. Chuck retired in 1998 after teaching in the Dassel and Dassel-Cokato schools for 31 years. He really enjoyed teaching, most of the time, and was humbled to learn that a number of his students went into their professions or careers because of the classes they had with him. Several of his former students have become life-long friends.

Chuck was a strong supporter of local high school sports. For a time, he served as a judge for diving and as an announcer at girls basketball. He spent many hours in the bleachers cheering on the football and basketball teams.

Chuck was very active in his church, serving as Sunday School superintendent, trustee, a member of various committees and boards, and as church clerk. He volunteered with Awana and other kids’/home school activities. He also spent countless hours at the church cemetery cleaning and re-setting headstones, as well as researching the history of some of the older gravesites. He was passionate about the ministry of Trout Lake Bible Camp in Pine River, MN and spent many days and weekends there working on special projects and updating grounds and facilities alongside some very special friends.

He married Patsy Long, a widow, in Stanchfield on April 11, 1987. Following his retirement, they lived in Anoka for four years before her passing in 2003. The years he spent with Patsy brought him incredible joy.

Chuck designed and enjoyed building his three homes. The time he was able to spend with his daughters, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren were some of his happiest moments. He loved to watch them all enjoy life and wanted his last message to them to be that they should all love the Lord.

He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife Patsy and their precious Yorkie, Cookie and his mini-Dachshund, Kadia.
He is survived by his sisters Linda (George Mayer) Ritter and Julie (Tom) Snicker, his daughters Kari (Rick) Zins and Robyn (Dave) Frank, grandchildren Michael (Amanda) Zins, Kristina (Derek) Dabbs, Richard (Holly) Forslin, Peter (Brittany) Frank, Laura Frank, and Rebecca Frank, stepsons Brian (Bonnie) Long and Brad (Joel) Long, and their children Josh, Anna, Emily, Grant, Jacob and Aaron, a number of nieces and nephews and many great grandchildren.

Chuck passed away following a short but very courageous battle with cholangiocarcinoma at the age of 84 on Wednesday, January 17, 2024. His funeral will be held on Sunday, January 21, at 3 pm at First Baptist Church in Cokato, MN. Visitation will be at the church one hour prior to the funeral. In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred.

Chuck will be buried at the Stanchfield Baptist Church Cemetery near his grandparents, parents, and wife, Patsy.

Dean Rodney Hedlund, age 81 of Annandale, passed away on January 13, 2024 at the St. Cloud VA Community Care Center.

Dean was born August 19, 1942 at University Hospital in Minneapolis, MN to William Sexton and Opal (Longwell) Hedlund. As an infant Dean lived in Minneapolis for a short period of time and then moved to Sausalito, California while his father worked in the shipyards during WW II. He then moved back to Minnesota with his family and settled on a farm in Kingston Township. He attended 8 years of grade school in the one room school house at Happy Corner. He attended high school in Cokato until joining the US Navy on January 14, 1960. He attended boot camp at the Naval Training Center in San Diego, California. Duty stations during his service years included Great Lakes Naval Base in Illinois, Puerto Rico, and aboard an LST (Landing Ship Tank) off the coast of Vietnam. On April 29, 1966 he was honorably discharged as an E4 Yeoman.

After his discharge from the Navy, Dean worked for a time at a railroad. While working for a mechanical contractor, he was accepted into an apprenticeship program for plumbing through the plumber’s union. He attended and graduated from Dunwoody Institute in Minneapolis as a plumber. He was a proud member of the Plumber’s Union Local 15. During his career as a plumber/pipefitter, Dean worked in many locations in Minnesota and throughout the United States, Canada, as well as the McMurdo Research Station in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. He purchased an acreage near Stanley Eddy Memorial County Park in rural Annandale, MN where he lived until the time of his death.

Dean enjoyed broom hockey, demolition derbies, pitching horseshoes (state champion), ice and spear fishing, traditional bow hunting, deer hunting with his grandsons on his property, watching high school and college wrestling, riding his Harley, spending time with family and participating in grandkids activities, and watching the sandhill cranes that would visit his property. He was a lifetime member of the Kingston American Legion where he had served as Commander, as well as a lifetime member of Post 7664 VFW and a lifetime member of Chapter 37 DAV.

Dean is survived by his daughters, Stacy (Buck) Twardy of Hutchinson, Jenny (Eric) Iverson of Dassel, grandchildren Jordan and Nathan Twardy, Tanner, Alexis, and Chloe Iverson, and great granddaughter Noelle Iverson Hamade, sisters Kay Anderson of Dassel and Linda (Alan) Hewitt of Kasota, brothers Darrel of Kingston, and Dale (Cindy) of Hutchinson and many nieces and nephews, and his cat Baroni. He was preceded in death by his parents, brother-in-law Jim Anderson, and sister-in-law Nancy Hedlund.

Memorial service will be held at 11:00 AM on June 8, 2024 at the Kingston Community Center with visitation 9:30 – 11:00 am. Interment with Military Honors will be at Sunset Cemetery at Happy Corner just outside of Kingston.

Our dearly loved Denny, age 81, of Cokato, went to Heaven to be with the Lord on January 11th, 2024.

A Celebration of Life will be held at New Life Assembly of God Church in Cokato, MN at 11:00 AM on Wednesday, January 17th, 2024. Visitation one hour prior.

Dennis was born to Richard and Ilene Korte Bartell, on March 12th, 1942, in Morris, MN. He grew up helping his dad on the family farm. He was adventurous and enjoyed wrestling, roller-skating and hunting. He graduated from Herman High School, then went on to attend the State School of Science, receiving his degree in Drafting and Design.

He was a devoted husband and loving father with an unquenchable desire to learn and pursue God. He was witty and wise, a master storyteller and had a charming sense of humor. He enjoyed jigsaw puzzles, painting and bird watching. His life was an illustration of the greatest commandment to love God and love others. Matthew 22:36-39. Denny made the verse come alive in his service to God and the love he gave others. He was an ordained minister, encourager and mentor to many.

He is survived by his wife of 38 years, Marilyn; daughters, Sherry (Roger) Danielson, Roxanne Craven, Becky Fox, stepdaughter, Terri (Charlie) Miller, stepson, Brian Fitzgerald; sister, Brenda Alcorn; 20 grandchildren; 18 great-grandchildren; and many other relatives and friends.

Dennis was preceded in death by his parents; siblings, Donna Linchangco, Marlene Johnson, and James Bartell.

Denny is now in Heaven greeting people saying, “Good Morning! This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!”