Obituaries from the week of March 19, 2003

Phyllis Lanners, 63

A memorial services will be held on Friday, March 21, 2003 at 11 a.m. at the Kolden Funeral Chapel in Belle Plaine for Phyllis E. Lanners, age 63. There will be a visitation one hour prior to the service at the funeral home. Burial will be at a later date at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Cemetery in Currie, MN.

Phyllis passed away Sunday, March 16, 2003 at the Lutheran Home in Belle Plaine. She was born on July 25, 1939 in Tracy, MN to Cecil “Pete” and Luella (Tonneson) Brown. She graduated from Tracy High School in 1957.

Phyllis married Urban Lanners on April 25, 1959 at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Tracy. She worked for a short time at S & L Clothing Store.

Phyllis is survived by her husband, Urban of Belle Plaine; son, Dean (Deb) Lanners of Lake Lillian; daughter, Deborah Buck of Belle Plaine; six grandchildren; brother, Virgil (Donna) Brown of Claire City, SD; sister, Karen (Wallace) Geis of Casa Grande, AZ.

She was preceded in death by her parents, an infant son and a brother, Lowell Brown.

The Kolden Funeral Service of Belle Plaine handled arrangements.

Robert Welch, 82

Robert Welch, 82 of Tracy, passed away on Thursday, March 13, 2003. A memorial service was held on Saturday, March 15, at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Tracy. Interment was in the Calvary Catholic Cemetery with the Tracy Area Funeral Home handling arrangements.

Robert was born August 10, 1920 in Tracy, MN to Philip and Katherine (Gillronan) Welch. He was baptized and confirmed at St. Mary's Catholic Church. Bob attended grade school and high school in Tracy graduating in 1938. He then attended St. John's University in Collegeville, MN and later Creighton University in Omaha, NE.

On August 2, 1942, Robert was united in marriage to Mary Hunker in Omaha. After being married, Bob enlisted in the Army Air Corps and served in North Africa during WWII. After being discharged from the service, Robert returned to Minneapolis where he began working for Northwest Airlines. The family moved around quite a bit during his years with the airline. He them became the director of sales for Hilton Hotels where he worked for a number of years. He later worked for the hotel/motel association until his retirement. After retiring they moved back to Tracy where he lived in his original house.

Robert was a lifetime member of St. Mary's Catholic Church. He also was a member of the VFW and the American Legion. Bob also enjoyed basketball.

Robert is survived by his children Robert Welch and wife Sharon of Vancouver, WA and Margaret Welch of Portland, OR; two grandchildren James and Jennifer; and three great-grandchildren Quinn, Miles and Joseph.

Robert was preceded in death by his wife Mary and daughter Kathleen.