Swanson Peterson Funeral Home

William “Bill” John Fiedler, age 94 of Annandale, MN died Sunday, Dec. 25, 2023, at Lake Ridge Care Center in Buffalo, MN.

Bill was born to John and Marjorie (Robinson) Fiedler Oct. 12, 1929 at the home place, north of Albright’s Mill in Middleville Township.

He attended the Maple Grove country school and graduated from Howard Lake High School with the Class of 1947. He was a member of the first Laker football team, and spoke highly of that! After graduation, he and lifelong sidekick, Kenny Gausman, traveled to Texas in search of work. They returned shortly after with more stories than fortunes.

Bill was married to Irene Haggberg Dec. 20, 1952 at Elim Mission Church in Cokato by the Rev. Rod Rosengrin. Bill and Irene made their home and raised four children, on the farm in Albion Township (Shuneson Corner).

He was a family man and regularly attended recitals, concerts, plays, and numerous other sporting events. Not much was said at those events, but his smirk and chuckle were his way of sharing what he thought.

Bill was a lifelong farmer and was honored with a Century Farm Award in 2013. He took great pride in his land and animals that he cared for. He raised many litters of Springer Spaniel puppies and was proud of the bloodline dating back to England.

Bill was a member of the Wright County Historical Society, Fairhaven Mill Board, and Sylvan Cemetery board. More recently, he was a major contributor of his historical knowledge, assisting a local author, who has written books on Albright’s Mill and the lost town of Smith Lake.

He enjoyed traveling to visit friends and family throughout the Midwest, as well as, California. His chosen destination was Italy, to visit a former foreign exchange student, Alessandra Rompianesi.

Bill is survived by daughters Julie (Roger) Entinger of Anoka, Linda (Mark) Weber of Waverly, and Lori (Mark) Vandersteen of Rosemount; and son John (Debbie) Fiedler of Annandale; 12 grandchildren: Erik (Kim) Entinger, Andy (Julienne) Entinger, Luke (Jana) Entinger, and Jake (Danielle) Entinger. Erin (Kyle) Kutz, and Sam (Melissa) Weber. Clarissa (George) Trujillo, Mattie (Dan) McLaughlin, Brok (Megan) Vandersteen, and Leif (Bonny) Vandersteen. Brandon (Whitney) Fiedler and McKenzie (Matt) Ylitalo, sister Jean Carlson, and 23 great grandchildren.

He is preceded in death by his wife, Irene, parents, two grandchildren, Zachery Vandersteen and Christopher Entinger.

Services will be held at 12 noon, Saturday, January 6, 2023 at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Howard Lake, MN. Visitation prior to service starting at 10 am.

June Forsen of Dassel, MN passed away peacefully at the age of 96 on December 19, 2023. June was born in Dassel on April 9, 1927 to Oscar “Fritz” Godfred Johnson and Agnes Melvina Larson Johnson.
June attended Dassel High School and graduated in 1945. While in High School, she was in the choral group and was involved in as many school plays as she could. She also played the Saxophone in the school band.
After graduating High School, June moved to Los Angeles where she met Curtis at the Evangelical Covenant Church in downtown LA. Curtis and June were married April 19, 1947 and raised their 4 children in California. Curtis and June retired to Dassel to the family farm in 1982.
June enjoyed gardening, sewing and raising horses. June taught Bible study in Dassel for 15 years and was a member of Lake Jennie Covenant Church.
She was preceded in death by her husband Curtis who passed away in 2013. She is survived by her 4 children, Richard and his wife Susan of Vero Beach FL, John of Dassel MN, Peter and his wife Susan of Cold Spring MN and Barbara and her husband Kevin Cameron of Pelham, NH. June also has four grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.
A Memorial Service will be held in the springtime.

David Bruce Jacobson, 75, of Cokato, MN passed away on Thursday, December 14, 2023, at North Memorial Hospital in Robbinsdale, MN.

David was born on September 29, 1948, in Ontonagon, MI to Norman and Mary Jacobson. He grew up in Paynesville, MI and was a 1966 graduate of Ewen Trout Creek High School. David served in the United States Air Force for 4 years and was a Vietnam Veteran.

On June 26, 1971, David married Nancy Helen Kurtti, the love of his life, in Wolf Lake, MN. They lived in Ishpeming, MI while David worked for 30 years at Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company, in Palmer, MI. Outside of work, he enjoyed fishing, hunting, and spending time with his sons, grandsons, extended family and friends at his hunting camp in Paynesville, MI near his childhood home. Nancy and David enjoyed playing board games with their friends and children and travelling throughout the US. David also enjoyed reading and solving word puzzles. Later in life, spending time with his grandchildren and great-grandchildren brought him immense joy.

David is survived by his wife Nancy, his two daughters, Melissa of Kihei, HI and Sherry of Minnetonka, MN and three sons, Ryan (Jean) of Cokato, MN, Jared (Meredith) of Highland, MI, and Joshua (Nicole) of Buffalo, MN. David is also survived by his 11 grandchildren, Justin, Jordan (Shania), Kendra, Kylee, Easton, Gage, Shea, Callum, Esme, Porsha, and Alexis and 2 great-grandchildren, Delilah Ann and Rhett David. He is survived by his sister, Judy Hansen of Ewen, MI and brothers, Robert (Lona) of Saxon, WI, and Kenneth (Verna) of Marquette, MI, brother-in-law, Mike Nousiainen of Bruce Crossing, MI, and many brothers- and sisters-in-law and numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews, and many friends.

He was preceded in death by his son Bruce David, his parents Norman and Mary Jacobson, his brothers, Norman Jr., Ted, Paul, and Tom, his sister Kathy Nousiainen, his sister-in-law, Judy Jacobson, brother-in-law Larry Hansen and his father- and mother-in-law John and Mayme Kurtti.

Visitation will be Tuesday, December 19, 2023 from 4-8 pm (prayer at 7pm) at the Cokato Laestadian Lutheran Church in Cokato, MN.

Funeral services will be at 11:00 am, Wednesday, December 20, 2023 at the Cokato Laestadian Lutheran Church in Cokato, MN with burial following at the Cokato Finnish Cemetery.

Linda M. Laugen, 82, passed away at St. Luke’s Hospital on December 2, 2023.

Linda was born on April 9, 1941, to Arnold and Ruth (Westerberg) Peterson in Minneapolis, MN. She grew up in Baldwin, NY and had a lifelong love of New York City and the ocean – especially Jones Beach.
She left Long Island for St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN where she met the love of her life, Jack. Linda and Jack were married in 1964 in Northfield, but soon came to Cedar Rapids. Together they raised three children, Anne, Pete and Martha.

Linda graduated Magna Cum Laude from St. Olaf College and was a French teacher in Hopkins, MN before moving to Cedar Rapids. She found her love of counseling and helping people in crisis which led to her attaining a Master of Counseling and Human Development degree from the University of Iowa in 1993 and operating a successful counseling practice. Linda held paid positions at Foundation 2, Inc. and with the Employee Assistance Program at Collins Aerospace. She also served endless volunteer hours with the Veterans Center, the Linn County Food Bank, St. Luke’s Pastoral Care program, the Inter-Religious Council of Linn County and the Catherine McAuley Center.

Linda loved the arts – she and Jack were staunch supporters of Orchestra Iowa; she was an accomplished organist who regularly played at Lovely Lane Methodist Church, Knox Presbyterian Church, and the St. Luke’s Chapel; and she loved to sing harmony on church hymns. She was also an amazing free hand artist who made beautiful doodles and addressed in calligraphy the wedding invitations for her niece.
Later in life, Linda renewed her love of the Jewish faith, which started when she grew up on Long Island. She converted to Judaism and became even more her authentic self. She embraced her multi-faith family with grace and endless curiosity. She would often light the Menorah while listening to the St. Olaf College Choir Christmas Concert.

Linda is survived by her children, Anne of Cedar Rapids, Pete (Stefanie) of Phoenix, AZ and Martha of Madison, WI. She is also survived by her sister Kristi (Rick), brother Roger (Karen); nieces Jenny and Kathy; nephews Bill, Chris and Tim; and her beloved grandchildren, Emi, Ali and Jack Laugen.

She was preceded in death by her husband Jack and her parents.

A private family burial took place at Stockholm Lutheran Church near Cokato, MN. A Celebration of Life is being planned for March 2024 in Cedar Rapids. Memorials may be directed to Cedar Rapids Bank & Trust; Linda M. Laugen Memorial c/o Anne Laugen. Memorials will be shared with Coe College, St. Olaf College, and Temple Judah.

The family would like to thank the staff and traveling nurses at the Pulmonary Care Unit and the Hospice Unit at St. Luke’s Hospital for their exceptional care and compassion for Mom. We are grateful.

Gerald Otto Gruenhagen “Budda” was born May 13, 1955, in Cokato, Minnesota to Otto and Dorothy (Anderson) Gruenhagen. He was baptized and confirmed in his faith at St James Lutheran Church in Howard Lake, Minnesota. In his younger years, Gerald grew up on the family homestead where he enjoyed farming with his family, riding motorcycles and driving all kinds of muscle cars and trucks.

Gerald later went on to join the Operating Engineers Local 49 Union where he operated various pieces of equipment and met lifelong friends. He spent over 25 years in the union and retired from the Local 49ers at the age of 62. Gerald married Connie Rancour at St. James Lutheran Church on May 13, 1987. They would go on to have two children, Christina, and Matthew Gruenhagen. Gerald and Connie enjoyed 36 wonderful years of marriage together.

In his free time, Gerald loved spending it with family and friends. His favorite place to be was at home with his family. In April 2023, Gerald accepted one of his greatest titles in life, Grandpa, through the birth of his first granddaughter Georgie Lynn. He also enjoyed many hobbies throughout his life including collecting vintage Harley Davidson motorcycles & WW2 memorabilia, watching Westerns, going to gun shows with his son, and helping others whenever he could. He was a proud member of the American Rifle Association.

Gerald passed away on December 9th, 2023, at the age of 68 at the family farm in Howard Lake. Gerald was a kind, loving, and generous person who would have given his last dollar to anyone who would have asked and never said no to any request made to him; beloved by all who knew him.

He is survived by his wife Connie, children Christina, Matthew (Cassandra) Gruenhagen, granddaughter Georgie, sisters Barb (Don) Lambert, Kathy Steffes, Susie (Joe) Synder, Janet (Tim) Lepage, Sister-in-law Janet (Mike) Ewert, brother-in-laws Mike (Kathy) Rancour, Tony (Aimee) Rancour, Pat Rancour, Vince Rancour, and family and friends.

He was proceeded in death by his parents Otto & Dorothy Gruenhagen, brother Dwight Carlen, brother-in-laws Jerry Hugo & Les Steffes, cousins Russell Gruenhagen & Garlen Gruenhagen, and in-laws Louis & Arline Rancour.

Memorial service will be held at 11:00 am Saturday, December 16, 2023 at St. James Lutheran Church in Howard Lake, MN with visitation one hour prior to service.