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Obituaries from the week of June 13, 2001 Headlight Herald - Serving Tracy, Minnesota, since 1880

Newell (Mac) Hill

A memorial service for Newell (Mac) Hill will be held at the Garvin Congregational Church at 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 16.

Newell passed away on October 8, 2000 at the Bethesda Heritage Nursing Home in Willmar. All friends are invited to attend.

Esther Rasmusen, 94

Funeral services are set for Friday, June 15, 2001 at 11 a.m. for Esther M. Rasmusen, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Sleepy Eye. Visitation will be on Thursday from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Sturm Funeral Home in Sleepy Eye and will continue for one hour prior to the service at the church. Pastor Ron Freimark will officiate.

Casket bearers will be Martin Smith, Ken Olstad, David McCord, Bill Conway, Ronald Pederson and Ivan Pederson.

Esther was born on August 9, 1906 in Luverne, Iowa the daughter of William and Hattie (Krueger) Thake. She moved with her family to the Jeffers area in 1912 where she grew up and graduated from Windom High School in 1924. In 1925 she completed her Normal School for Teachers Training and she taught in the Cottonwood County Schools for several years.

Esther married Ole W. Rasmusen on May 8, 1929 at the Trinity Lutheran Church Parsonage in Westbrook, MN. The couple made their home in the Westbrook, Walnut Grove and Tracy area and later moved into Tracy in 1965. They moved to Sleepy Eye in 1987.

Esther also worked for the Lyon County Assessors office in Marshall for 13 years. She had made her home at the Sleepy Eye Care Center since 1999. Esther was an active member of the Lutheran Church and other community organizations.

She is survived by her two daughters, Myrna and husband Gail Smith of Owatonna and Marlys and husband David Olstad of Hanska; six grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren, five great-great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents, husband Ole in April of 1994, sister Florence Thake, brothers, Albert and Harold Thake and a great-grandson, Isaac Glasser.

Interment will be at the Old Westbrook Lutheran Cemetery in Westbrook, MN.

The Sturm Funeral Home of Sleepy Eye is handling arrangements.

Vernon Lamb, 84

Funeral services were held on Saturday, June 9, 2001, at Tracy Lutheran Church for Vernon Lamb. Reverend Stephen Olson and Reverend Marlene Elmstrom officiated. Organist was Richard Stelter.

Casket bearers were Troy Hanson, Bill Bornitz, Mike Anderson, Richard Hanson, Kent Cowell and Keven Cowell. Millitary honors were by the Tracy American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Vernon Lamb was born October 12, 1916 to Harvey and Jane (Walcott) Lamb in Muskegon, Michigan. He was baptized in the Lutheran faith and attended school in White, SD. As a young man Vernon drove truck and worked on the family farm driving a six-horse team.

On April 7, 1942, he entered the U.S. Army and was trained as an airplane mechanic, cryptographer and as an Anti-Tank Gun Crewman. He was discharged on March 13, 1946.

He was a member of the Tracy American Legion Post and Tracy Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Vernon had two sons with his first wife, Jeanne. On December 12, 1973 he married Louise Hanson and they made their home in Tracy. Vernon worked for the C&NW Railroad as a brakeman until his retirement in the late 70's.

He was a member of the Tracy Lutheran Church and was confirmed in 1974. Vernon and Louise loved to travel and spent many years wintering in Alamo, Texas.

Vernon entered the Prairie View Healthcare Center in January 1998 and died on June 7, 2001, at the Tracy Hospital, at the age of 84 years.

He is survived by two sons; Larry (Patricia) of Arlington, MN and Rick of Minneapolis, MN; two step-daughters, Donna Mae (Junior) Kathman of St. James, MN and Alice Cowell of Butterfield, MN; two step-sons, Lennis (Judy) Hanson of St. James, MN and Richard (Norine) Hanson of Tracy, MN; 21 grandchildren; 46 great-grandchildren and 20 great-great-grandchildren; one sister, Virginia Kern of Farmington, MN; nieces, nephews and friends.

His parents, wife, Louise, two brothers and one step-daughter preceded him in death.

Burial was at the Tracy City Cemetery with the Almlie Funeral Home of Tracy handling arrangements.