Swanson Peterson Funeral Home

Paul Henry Nylin was born to Emil and Elaine (Kantola) Nylin on September 6, 1947 in St. Cloud MN. Paul, also known as “Skipper”, was the oldest of four boys.

In 1965, Paul graduated from Annandale High School where he lettered in football and wrestling.  Upon graduation he attended St. Paul Bible College (Crown College).  Paul then joined the United States Navy in 1966.  Before leaving for his first submarine tour, Paul married the love of his life, Bonnie Thompson, of Cokato, MN on June 9th, 1967.  They were married at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in French Lake, MN.  They spent the first few years living between Connecticut and Minnesota.  In 1968, their first child, Yana Marie, was born in Litchfield, MN. In 1970, he was honorably discharged and they began their civilian life in the Annandale area where their son, Aaron Paul, was born in 1972.  For many years, Paul followed in his father’s footsteps as a skilled home builder.  In 1975, their youngest daughter,  Amanda Kay, was born.  In 1978, Paul and his family attended Christ for the Nation Institute in Dallas, Texas.  Through many adventures and business opportunities his family enjoyed life in Dallas, South Texas, Mississippi, Minnesota and Wisconsin.  These places provided them with beautiful friendships, fun adventures and an opportunity to experience God’s faithfulness.  Most recently they have been spending winters in Texas and summers in the home Paul built for them in beautiful Crosslake, MN.  Paul’s love and commitment always focused on his relationship with the Father, his love for his family, and building friendships and relationships along the way. He loved fiercely and he is loved dearly.

He is survived by wife Bonnie Nylin of 54 years, Yana (Kevin) White, Aaron (Katie) Nylin, Amanda Nylin and 15 grandchildren. As well as, his 3 brothers Michael (Joyce) Nylin, Wayne (Nancy) Nylin, Joel (Dawn) Nylin; sister Adeline Maurer; Mother in Law, Lorraine Thompson; Sister in Law Trudi (Gene) Westberg; Brothers in Law Ron Thompson and Rodney Erickson and many nieces and nephews.

Preceded in death by his parents Emil and Elaine Nylin; Infant daughter, Rebekah Jo; Father in Law Harold Thompson; Sisters in Law Holly Thompson and Lanette Erickson; Brothers William “Bill” (Margie) Nylin, Donald (Connie) Nylin, Rosella (Herb) Trettavik; Brother in Law Doug Maurer.

A celebration of Paul’s life will be held at 1:00 PM on Saturday, April 16, 2022 at the Cokato Events Center (405 Broadway Ave N, Cokato, MN 55321) with visitation 1 hour prior to services. Arrangements by Swanson-Peterson Funeral Home & Cremation Services of Cokato & Howard Lake, MN 320-286-2534 www.swansonpeterson.com

Theresa Mae Ronayne passed peacefully in her home on April 5^th, 2022 at the age of 88.

Theresa was born on October 10, 1933 to Joseph Theodore and Anna Mary Tomasko (Bourbeau), the twelfth of thirteen children, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

She was united in marriage on April 28, 1956 to Gerald Joseph Ronayne. They were blessed with two children, Michael and Colleen.

Those who knew her would say she was the most thoughtful, selfless and devout woman. She lived to care for others without any thought of reward. She was adored by her family.

Preceded in death by her parents, siblings; Gertrude, Joseph, Gabriel, Rose, Jerome, Theodore, Thomas, Mary Ann, Betty, Sylvia, Clarence and John; and by her husband Gerald.

Survived by her children; Michael (Mary), Colleen (David), her grandchildren; Jason (Desiree), Joe (Katelyn), Jackie (Brian), Kathleen (Paul), Eamon (Chanel) and Theresa (Jeramey); and by her great-grandchildren; Pearl, Katherine, Evelyn, Maxwell, Bennett, Dylan and Aaron.

Mass of Christian Burial at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Waverly on Saturday April 9th at 10:30 am with visitation at 9 am. Swanson-Peterson Funeral Home www.swansonpeterson.com 320-543-3401

Clayton W. Helinske, age 93 of Howard Lake, Minnesota died on Monday, April 4, 2022 at North Memorial Hospital. He was born January 2, 1929 in Deer River, MN the son of Walter and Hattie (Wackler) Helinske. He was baptized January 27, 1929 by pastor W.G Brammer at Deer River, MN and confirmed at St. James Lutheran Church on April 2, 1944 by Pastor Eugene Seltz. He attended country schools, St. James Parochial School and Howard Lake High School. He was united in marriage to Marjorie Zimmerman on May 16, 1953 at St. James Lutheran Church in Howard Lake. He was employed at Howard Lake Farmers Creamery, Custer Super Valu and Cokato Manor.
Clayton served in the US Army for three years and nine months, the majority of this time was spent in Germany. He was honorably discharged at the rang of staff sergeant. He was a faithful member of St. James Lutheran Church and had served as an elder and on evangelism and stewardship boards. He served on the Howard Lake city council for a number of years. He was a member of the Montrose VFW.
Clayton enjoyed fishing, deer hunting swimming, scuba diving, gardening, and yard work. In the winter he spent his time painting oil on canvas and the in later years, word searching and putting puzzles together. He enjoyed helping others with their house projects.
Clayton is survived by his wife Marjorie, brother in-law, Gerald Rasmussen of Howard Lake, sisters in-law and brothers in-law, Yvonne Urban of Silver Lake, Marlene Zimmerman of Winsted, Gordon (Gloria) Zimmerman of Owatonna, Loren (Charlotte) Zimmerman of Howard Lake, and Clifford (Linda) Zimmerman of Howard Lake, along with many nieces, nephews, relatives, and friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Walter and Hattie Helinske, father in-law, and mother in-law, Joseph and Corinne Zimmerman, sister, Sandra Rasmussen, brothers, Norman (Marion) Helinske, and Donald (Carol) Helinske, brothers in-law, Kenneth Zimmerman, John Custer, and Ted Urban, sisters in-law, Rachel Custer and Laura Mae Zimmerman.
A funeral service will be held at 11:00 AM on Saturday, April 9, 2022 at St. James Lutheran Church in Howard Lake with visitation 1 hour prior to services at church. Officiating at the service will be Reverend Mark Loder and Vicar Zach Klumpp, with Luke Dahl serving as organist and special music provided by Marge Stueven. Casket bearers will be Mark Custer, Bryan Urban, Todd Urban, Kenneth C. Zimmerman, Bradley Zimmerman, and Nathan Zimmerman. Internment will follow services at the Howard Lake Cemetery. Arrangements by Swanson-Peterson Funeral Home of Howard Lake, www.swansonpeterson.com, 320-543-3401

Elaine Arminta Peterson was born May 5, 1920 at home in Cokato, MN. She passed away peacefully March 29, 2022 at the Cokato Manor. Elaine spent most of her life living at their home in Cokato, which she enjoyed along with her family. She broke her hip and went into the Cokato Manor for her care. She was alert and good, up until the last few months. She lived through COVID and never complained when she was there. She has been the “rock” of our family and always had a great mind. God gave her strength all these years with everything in her life.

She is survived by her 5 children, Ramona Franke of St. Cloud, MN, Lana Trippel of Ottertail, MN, Linda Keith of Buffalo, MN, Jeanette Reinfeld of Tallahassee, FL, and Timothy Peterson of Cokato, MN, 12 grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren. and 4 great-great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Ed and Luella Midtling, husband, Laurel Peterson, son, Daniel Peterson, granddaughter, Heather Martinson, sisters, Betty Midtling, Mardell Harkman, and Ivanell Degn, brother, Duane Midtling, son in-laws, Tom Franke, Don Trippel, and Ralph Reinfeld.

She is sadly missed by her large family and many friends. We all loved her and she loved us. You never can replace a mother or grandmother like she was. Her gentleness revealed her strength. Her beauty was her gift. Blessings – she gave to us all!

A funeral service will be held at 2:00 PM on Wednesday, April 6, 2022 at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Cokato with visitation 1 hour prior at church. Arrangements by Swanson-Peterson Funeral Home of Cokato, 320-286-2534, www.swansonpeterson.com

Funeral Live Stream here: https://www.elchome.net/funerals

Brenda Louise (Martin) Rydberg, age 69, passed away peacefully in her sleep at home near Dassel, Minnesota on Monday, March 21, 2022. Heaven received a beautiful treasure that day. For, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints” Psalm 116:15

Brenda was born May 2, 1952 to Glenn and Janet (Juhl) Martin in Belleville, Illinois. Brenda spent her early formative years in various locations including Cherokee, Iowa and Santa Clara, California. In 1965, she moved from Santa Clara with her mother and two younger sisters (Heidi and Lisa) to LeMars, Iowa after her father’s death. She graduated from LeMars Community High School in 1970. She graduated from Westmar College in LeMars, Iowa in 1974 with a double major in German and Elementary Education.

Brenda Martin married LaDon Rydberg on December 22, 1975 at St. John’s Lutheran Church in LeMars, Iowa. To this union were born seven children, Andrew, Miriam, Joseph, Jesse, Bethany, Michael, and Samuel. Brenda was a dedicated homeschool mother, spending much time teaching valuable life skills, reading books for countless hours aloud, going over their studies, and training her children to perform tasks well. Her greatest desire was that her children and grandchildren grow up to love God. That desire spilled over to the lives of many friends and acquaintances.

Brenda always had a love for people wherever she lived and went. She developed many a relationship by wanting others to know God and the importance of having Him be the focus of their life. She was passionate about studying God’s Word and praying for many people by writing Scripture prayers for them. She took great joy in being a blessing to others, since to her it was a great blessing to be a blessing to others. An example of the far-reaching influence is Farshad from Iran who called Brenda his very special American mom and she called him her sixth son. He also claimed her as his spiritual mother as did many others.

Brenda was preceded in death by her parents Glenn and Janet Martin, uncle Harold Rose, and mother-in-law Lois Rydberg.

She is survived by her husband, LaDon of Dassel, MN; children Andrew (Julie) Rydberg of Litchfield, MN; Miriam (Samuel) Glucklich of Janesville, CA; Joseph (KayCee) Rydberg of Dassel, MN; Jesse (Haley) Rydberg of Litchfield, MN; Bethany (Ben) Rickett of Janesville, CA; Michael Rydberg of Dassel, MN; and Samuel Rydberg of Dassel, MN; 20 grandchildren Asher, Simon and Jonas Rydberg of Litchfield, MN; Megan, Molly, Gideon, Natalie, Gracie, Gabriel, Elise, and Timothy Glucklich of Janesville, CA; Fletcher, Emma, Thatcher, and Archer Rydberg of Dassel, MN; Charlie, Danny, Edward, Addelyn, and Fredrick Rickett of Janesville, CA; sisters Heidi (Chuck) Cram of Montrose, CO; Lisa (Robert) Rhea of Smyrna, TN; aunt Brenda Rose of LeMars, IA; father and mother-in-law LuVerne and Marge Rydberg of Alta, IA: sisters-in-law Gayle (Harold) Craig of Armstrong, IA; Anne (Rollin) Nordell of Apple Valley, MN; Joan (Tadd) Chapman of San Antonio, TX; brothers-in-law Kent (Brenda) Rydberg of Dassel, MN; Paul (Nancy) Rydberg of Arthur, IA; many cousins, nieces and nephews.

Services will be held at 1:00 PM on Tuesday, April 12, 2022 at Dassel Covenant Church. Arrangements by Swanson-Peterson Funeral Home 320-286-2534, www.swansonpeterson.com