Swanson Peterson Funeral Home

Warren William Luehrs passed away Sept. 30th, 2021, at Abbott Northwestern Hospital at the age of 81.
He was born May 24, 1940, in New Ulm, MN to William and Elsie (Scheele) Luehrs. Warren went to grade school and attended High School in Glencoe, MN. He attended church in his youth at 1st Lutheran Church of Glencoe.
Pete joined the US Air Force in 1958 and completed his GED and gained additional schooling to learn Airplane Mechanics in Tulsa, OK. He was honorably discharged in August of 1963.
Pete married Diane and they were blessed with two children: a son, Shawn and a beautiful daughter, Kim.
January 19th, 1978, He married Mary Lou, and they made their home in Cokato. This marriage was blessed with their son, Joel. While living in Cokato, his Church home was Cokato Evangelical Lutheran Church, where in the early years He taught Sunday school and would usher.
Pete continued to work for many years as an Ag Mechanic in Glencoe and Litchfield. After Pete retired, He became a major asset at Hoernemann Farms in Winsted. If He couldn’t fix it or find the parts, He made the parts to fix something. Pete enjoyed baking and had a talent in frosting his well-known German Chocolate cakes. The football game was always on the TV. On special occasions He went fishing at Collinwood Lake, also made the trips out to Big Iron, and got to enjoy a couple days away to sight see Duluth. Pete was always busy maintaining the lawn and park appearance upkeep as He also managed the Country Village Mobile Estates in Cokato for 40 plus years.
Pete is survived by his loving wife, Mary Lou, son, Joel Luehrs, stepson, Michael “Mike” (Mandi) Hoernemann of Winsted, daughter, Kim Anderson of Brainerd, sister, Rita Tiede of Minnetonka, brothers, Alan (Judi) Luehrs of Waite Park, and Kermit Luehrs of Glencoe, granddaughters, Jordann and Allie Hoernemann of Fargo, ND, Annie Luehrs of Holyoke, Betsie Luehrs of Baxter, and Ashley Anderson of Grand Rapids, grandsons, Jareth and Hayden Hoernemann of Winsted, and great-granddaughters Alylah and Alivia.
He is proceeded in death by his parents, an infant son, son, Shawn Luehrs, and a sister, Myrna Asmus.
A memorial service will be held at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Cokato at 11:00 AM on Tuesday, October 5, 2021 with visitation beginning at 9:30 AM. Refreshments and light lunch to follow.
Arrangements by Swanson-Peterson Funeral Home & Cremation Services of Cokato & Howard Lake, MN. www.swansonpeterson.com 320-286-2534

Helvi passed away at the Cokato Manor on September 8, 2021
Funeral Service: 11 AM Wednesday, September 15, 2021 at The Laestadian Congregation Church, Couth of Cokato
Viitation: 1 Hr. Prior to service at church on Wednesday
Interment: Cokato Finnish Cemetery

Joyce Wistrom
12/24/1929 – 9/7/21

Joyce Wistrom was born in Knapp, MN to Carl and Myrtle Peterson. The oldest of three sisters, she grew up in the Knapp and Cokato area. The family eventually moved to Minneapolis where she graduated from South High School in 1948. She met Kenneth Wistrom there. They were married in 1949 and had three children, Brad, LeAnne, and Brian.

Besides raising her children, Joyce worked at the U of M Bookstores and Marquette Bank for several years, retiring from Marquette Banks in 2005. Awards included a Certificate of Appreciation from Marquette Banks as well as a Certificate from the City of Minneapolis for her garden.

Joyce was a member of Bethany Lutheran Church, singing in their choir and several other local singing groups. She also enjoyed gardening, china painting, and listening to music as well as watching her favorite baseball team, the Minnesota Twins.

Joyce is survived by her three children, Brad, LeAnne, and Brian (Carol) and numerous nieces and nephews. Preceding her in death were her parents, Carl and Myrtle, her sisters, Ramona Swanson and Nita Psihos, and husband Kenneth Wistrom.

A private service was held by the family on Saturday, Sept. 11 with internment at North Crow River Lutheran Church Cemetery. Reception scheduled at a later date.

The family extends a special thank you to the staff at The Terrace in Crystal and the medical team at North Memorial Hospital who made Joyce’s life as comfortable as it could be over these last few months.

Ainie Marie (Hillstrom) Busse, 93, died peacefully on August 29, 2021 in Cokato, Minnesota. She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, and “Meemaw” will be dearly missed by her family, relatives, and friends.

Ainie was preceded in death by her husband of 54 years, Norman, and survived by her children John Busse (Kathy) of Candler, NC; Linda Busse of Spokane, WA; Marion Heidi Nelson (Gregg) of Maple Grove, MN; Nancy Busse of Robbinsdale, MN; as well as grandchildren Owen Busse (Kristina) of Candler, NC; Sarah Nelson of Indianapolis, IN; Amy Nelson of St. Louis Park, MN; and great-granddaughters Penelope and Olivia.

Ainie was born on April 1, 1926, in Chicago, IL, the oldest of 9 children of Hugo and Lempi Hillstrom. She was certainly not an “April Fool,” but it made for many family jokes over the years. She graduated from Deephaven, MN high school in 1945 and studied Journalism at the University of MN, but never finished her degree. She married Norman Busse on May 12, 1948 and they lived and farmed in Prior Lake for many years before making Cokato their home in 1970.

In 1973, Ainie and Norm started Busse Gardens and Ainie brought her business mind to establishing a successful garden center and later creating a mail-order perennial business. She was one of the founders of the Perennial Plant Association, a trade organization for perennial growers in the US and Canada. She sat on the Board of Directors for several state and national plant societies, was an active lecturer, and a certified judge for the Minnesota Horticulture Society, the American Hosta Society, the American Daylily Society, and many other organizations.

After retiring from Busse Gardens in 1999, Ainie turned her extra time to exploring her family genealogy and Finnish history. She was active in the Cokato Finnish-American Historical Society and the Finnish Genealogy Group of Minnesota, attended many FinnFest celebrations, and traveled to Finland to see “the old country” and meet relatives.

Ainie was a woman of strong faith and her trust in God helped her through many difficult times. Her keen mind, depth of knowledge, and loving heart will be missed by all. A memorial service to celebrate Ainie’s life will be held at the First Baptist Church of Cokato on Saturday, October 16 at 1pm. In lieu of flowers and in appreciation of the exceptional care given by the Cokato Manor staff, please consider a memorial tribute to the Cokato Charitable Trust Furniture Fund (Cokato Manor, 182 Sunset Ave N, Cokato MN 55321).

Kathryn Carol (Ingwersen) Moritz, age 86, of Cokato, passed away peacefully on September 5, 2021 at her daughter’s home surrounded by her loving husband, Robert, her five caring daughters and family.

She was a generous and loving wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, sister and aunt. Into her final days as she held her great grandchildren, their joy and smiles were reflected in her eyes. The details of homemaking, creating a place for family to flourish and feel loved, were most important to her. She was committed to the importance and value of providing a nurturing, sensory, loving home for her family. She advocated to all to not compromise on the time when children are young as it passes quickly and is the foundation for life.

She excelled in sewing clothes and quilts, gardening perennial flowers and vegetables, knitting afghans, making jam and pickles, and baking. A dinner prepared by Kathryn was always wonderfully tasty and made by scratch with love. She enjoyed caring for and spending time with family at their beautiful homes in Cokato and on Lake Ottertail. She showed her love for others in her attention to detail and commitment to excellence. She faced life’s challenges with grace and determination, and her courage and strength inspire us all.

Kathryn is survived by her husband, Robert Moritz, her children: Carolyn (Robert) Isch, Lori (Jeffery) Vetter, Marcia (Kevin Curran) Moritz, Mary (David) Andreasen, and Lisa Andreasen, 12 grandchildren: John Isch, Anita (Isch) and Ryan Troyer, Katrina Isch, Jacob and Sarah (Ooms) Vetter, Serena Throughbred, Katie Curran, Aaron Andreasen, Paul Andreasen, Annamarie Andreasen, Mitchell Andreasen, Clark Andreasen, Celeste Andreasen, 5 great-grandchildren: Lydia Troyer, Lucy Troyer, Ella Troyer, Ryan Vetter, Reese Vetter, her sister, Marilyn Bates, brother, Carl (Sally) Ingwersen and brother-in-law, Lynn (Darlene) Moritz. She was preceded in death by her parents, Julius and Irma Ingwersen, brothers, John Ingwersen, and Robert Ingwersen.

A farm in Lake Park, Iowa was home for Kathryn from birth on March 17, 1935 until graduating in 1952. Kathryn attended business college in Omaha, Nebraska and then worked in Spirit Lake, Iowa to be able to care for her mother. Kathryn married Robert (Bob) Moritz on May 11, 1957 in Milford, Iowa making their first home in El Centro, California while Bob served in the Navy. While Bob completed his college degree in Ames, Iowa, Kathryn worked nights in quality control. After Bob’s graduation and job offer at CDC, Kathryn coordinated several moves which brought them to Coon Rapids, Minnesota and Oakville, Ontario, Canada. In retirement, Kathryn enjoyed their country home on the Crow River in Cokato, Minnesota and spending summers on Lake Ottertail.

Our family extends a special thanks to Guardian Angels + Elim Home Care & Hospice, who provided much appreciated care, guidance and ministry during Kathryn’s final weeks with dementia at Carolyn and Bob’s near Hanover. It was an enormous blessing and honor to be able to be by her side and care for her so intimately in her time of need.

Thank you to Pastor Koch and the members of St. John’s who provided ministry and home visits to Kathryn and Bob when they were unable to attend in person.

Funeral service: Friday, Sept. 10 at 11 a.m. with visitation 1 hour prior at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Howard Lake.

Interment: North Crow River Lutheran Cemetery.