Headlight Herald - Serving Tracy, Minnesota, since 1880

Grace Buesing, 84

Grace M. Buesing age 84 of Tracy, MN died Wednesday, June 1, 2011 at the Maple Grove Hospital in Maple Grove, MN. Services were held on Monday, June 6, 2011 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Tracy. Interment was in the Calvary Cemetery in Tracy. The Almlie Funeral Home of Tracy handled the arrangements. Online condolences may be placed at www.almliefh.com

Grace Margaret Buesing, age 84, of Rogers, formerly of Tracy, passed away on June 1, 2011. Grace was born in Huron, South Dakota on June 12, 1926, to Walter and Alta (Pratt) Tobin. She grew up and attended school in Huron, where she graduated from high school. She married Von C. Buesing of Tracy, MN, on November 10, 1947. Their marriage of 62 years was blessed with seven children.

Grace and Von farmed near Balaton for many years. In addition to being a traditional and exceptional farm wife and raising her family, she worked at Johnson’s Poultry Farm and Colonial Manor in Balaton. They moved to Tracy in 1991, where they lived until August, 2010, at which time they moved to Rogers, MN. Von passed away in September, 2010.

Foremost of the things Grace loved in life was spending time with her family. Activities she enjoyed were helping with church pie fundraisers, creating quilts for church mission and for family, and playing cards. Her hand-crafted baby afghans, quilts, and doilies were treasured by the family members who received them as gifts for weddings, births, and family celebrations. She was a member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church and CCW, and during her lifetime she was a member of the American Legion Auxiliary.

She is survived by her children Mike Buesing of Shoreview, MN; Dan (Linda) Buesing of Orono, MN; Sandy (Rich) Glas of Moorhead, MN; Jeanine (Don) Ryther of Elk River, MN; Charlie (Janie) Buesing of Charleston, SC; Becky (John) Swanson of Tracy, MN; and Lisa (Loren) DeMartelaere, Russell, MN. She is also survived by grandchildren Randi Jo Paolo, Jeff Glas, Jason Ryther, Jessica Ryther, Rachel Tisdale, Chris Buesing, Ryan Swanson, Jennifer Novosad, LeAnne Hendriks, Krista Swanson, Jessica Walters, David Walters, and twelve great grandchildren. Survivors also include her sisters-in-law Shirley (Jerome Kleinsasser) Clark, Elaine (Charlie) Asman, Joyce (John) Goltz, and brother-in-law Robert (Jan) Buesing, and many nieces and nephews.

Her husband, Von, her grandson, Dana Ryther, her parents, and her siblings Mary, Eleanor, and Walter preceded Grace in death.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Tracy.

Curtis Deslauriers, 47

Memorial service was held for Curtis Deslauriers on Tues., June 7, 2011 at Dingmann Funeral Home Worthington, MN.

Curtis Edward Deslauriers, age 47, of Worthington, died Friday, June 3, 2011, at the Sanford Regional Hospital in Worthington.

He was born March 21, 1964, in Everett, WA, to Ralph and Joan (Paul) Deslauriers. Curtis attended school in Marshall and later graduated from Iola High School in Iola, KS, in 1982. He attended Tech School in Austin and later, Worthington Community College. Curtis married Tracy Goslar on May 6, 1989. The couple later divorced. In 2001, Curtis met Sue Dykema. The couple has been together ever since. He worked at Colonial Cabinets in Worthington; and also worked at The A & T Tap. Together, Curtis & Sue owned & operated CSI Entertainment, and traveled the area with Karaoke. Curtis enjoyed woodworking, hunting, fishing, riding horses, singing, playing guitar, and playing cribbage. He was a people person and enjoyed entertaining. Curtis is survived by his three sons, Jeremya (Justine) Deslauriers, Worthington; Zach Deslauriers, Marshall; and Dustin Dykema, Worthington; daughter, Ashley Bergjord, Worthington; grandson, Jaxon Deslauriers; parents, Ralph & Joan, Deslauriers, Tracy; three sisters, Natalie Ankrum, Tracy; Terri Morton, Inver Grove Heights; and Rita (Marty) Javens, Cottonwood; maternal grandmother, Edith Paul, Tracy; and special friend, Sue Dykema, Worthington.

He was preceded in death by his two nephews, Jesse & Hunter Javens; paternal grandparents; and his maternal grandfather. A private committal service will be at a later date. To view an online obituary or sign a virtual register book, please visit www.dingmannandsons.com

Daniel Jacob, 44

Daniel Thomas Jacob, age 44 of Garvin, passed away unexpectedly Tuesday, June 7, 2011, at his home.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Friday, June 10 at Tracy Lutheran Church. Visitation is 5:00-8:00 p.m. Thursday at the Tracy Area Funeral Home with a prayer service at 7:00 p.m. Visitation will continue one hour prior to services at the church on Friday. Interment is in the Tracy City Cemetery.

Online condolences may be sent at www.stephensfuneralservice.com. Stephens Funeral Service - Tracy Area Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements.

A complete obituary will be printed next week.

Roger Pond, 67

Roger Walters Pond was born February 9, 1944 to Roberta and Paul Pond of St. Paris, Ohio. One of seven children, Roger was raised on a dairy farm. He and his brothers had hair-raising stories of tractors (and their drivers) running amok and of early morning squirrel hunts. Roger graduated from A.B. Graham High School in 1962 and got his B.S. in Agriculture Education and M.S. in Wildlife Management from The Ohio State University. He and Connie Carter, also from St. Paris, were married in 1966. Roger tried one year of teaching vo-ag and decided 4-H Extension was a better fit for him. Roger was a 4-H agent in Ohio for three years before moving his young family including daughter Laura Lee to Goldendale, WA, in 1972. Son Russell Carter Pond was born in 1974. Roger was the Klickitat County 4-H Extension and then Agriculture Extension Agent from 1972-1985.

Coming from a long line of storytellers, writing a weekly rural humor column seemed a natural progression. In addition to being a photojournalist for Dow Chemical in the late 80s, Roger wrote his “Back Forty” column until his retirement in 2010. The column was syndicated to 50 papers nationwide at one point, and the stories were compiled into four books: It’s Hard to Look Cool When Your Car’s Full of Sheep, Things That Go Baa in the Night, Our Dog Was a Redneck But We Got Him Fixed, and Take The Kids Fishing, They’re Better Than Worms.

Roger truly loved the outdoors: hunting at Roscoe Imrie’s, fishing in the Columbia, John Day and Klickitat Rivers, mushroom hunting, and huckleberry and blackberry picking.

Roger and Connie had many great trips to the beach and around the U.S. and Canada, fishing, selling books, and seeing the countryside.

Roger is survived by his loving wife of 45 years, M. Connie Pond, daughter Laura (Jeff) Thayer and grandson Dema of Goldendale; son Russell (Sharmi) Pond and grandchildren Hannah and Henry of Grandview; brothers Jim, Richard (Dolly), Kenny (Kathy), and Merlin (Dixie) Pond of Ohio; sisters JoAnn (Terry) O’Brien of Arkansas, and Janet (Larry) Coleman of Alabama; brothers-in-law Charley (Bev) Carter, John (Adrienne) Carter and sister-in-law Barb (Brad) Swonger all of Ohio, and numerous nieces and nephews. Roger also leaves a legion of faithful readers who escaped weekly to a time very much like their own childhood or enjoyed Roger’s skewed version of life’s happenings.

A memorial service was held at the New Life Assembly of God on Saturday, June 4th with Pat Beaman of the United Methodist Church officiating. A celebration of Roger’s life will be held in Ohio in July.