Karen Bosacker, 64

Funeral services for Karen Rae Bosacker were held at Trinity Lutheran Church in Slayton, MN on Monday, November 16, 2015 at 10:30 a.m. with Rev. Doug Minton officiating.  The organist was Kathy Schwartz with special music by Heidi Winter.  The pallbearers were Mark Bosacker, Bob Miller, Brad Dierks, Steve Smith, Jake Boerboom and Jim Keul.  Interment was at Slayton Memorial Gardens in Slayton, MN. 

Karen Bosacker was born on May 27, 1951 in Slayton, Minnesota to Raymond and Bernice Ommen Dierks.  She grew up on the family farm near Avoca, MN.  Karen attended St. Paul’s Lutheran School in Fulda. and later graduated from Slayton High School.  On September 7, 1968 she and David Schmidt were married.  Following their marriage they made their home in the Slayton area and raised their daughter, Gayle.  They later divorced. 

On January 17, 1992 she and David Bosacker were married.  Following their marriage they made their home on Lake Shetek near Slayton.  Karen worked for Champion Homes, Christensen Implement, EP’s Accounting Office and later for the Murray County DAC.  In September 2013 she and Dave moved to Slayton and Karen retired in 2014. 

Karen passed away on Wednesday, November 11, 2015 at the Dougherty Hospice Home in Sioux Falls, SD at the age of 64.  She was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Slayton.  Karen was a Murray County Hospice Volunteer. 

Karen loved spending time with her granddaughter, Brooklyne taking rides around town and attending her school events.  Karen enjoyed her dog, Coco (Boy), walking, bird watching, being at the lake, attending Country Western Concerts and in her younger days riding horse and barrel racing. 

Survivors include her husband, Dave Bosacker of Slayton, MN, her daughter, Gayle Miller and her husband, Bob of Slayton, MN; three step-children and their spouses, Mark and Mandy of Tracy, MN, Monica Anderson of Marshall, MN, and Sarah and Grant Fischenich of Brandon, SD; one granddaughter, Brooklyne Miller; seven step-grandchildren, Jordan Bosacker, Dalton, Mariah and Daniel Anderson, Lilli, Hayden and Hatti Fischenich; three siblings, Barb Tuttle of Andover, MN, Jim Dierks and Lisa Johnson of Slayton, MN, and Dale and Lori Dierks of Slayton, MN; and her furry companion Boy. 

She is preceded in death by her parents. 

Totzke Funeral Home of Slayton is entrusted with arrangements.  To view online obituary and send condolences visit totzkefuneralhome.com

Edward Burckhardt, 96

Edward D. Burckhardt, long of Springfield, passed away Oct. 28, 2015. He had reached the age of 96 years, 1 month and 12 days.

Edward “Eddie” Dale Burckhardt was born September 18, 1919, in Coon Creek Township, Lyon County, State of Minnesota, to August and Rachel (Zvorak) Burckhardt. He was baptized at an early age. He attended rural school districts No. 70 and No. 92, and Russell High School.

Edward worked on farms and for the Rural Electric Association (REA) around Russell, MN; in the steel mills of Gary, Indiana; farmed in the vicinity of Russell; worked for the Village of Russell; and for the Southern Pacific Railroad in the Western United States, from which he retired in 1981.

Edward served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, aboard the USS Admiral R. E. Coontz, in both the Atlantic and Pacific Theaters, seeing action in the Pacific. He and his ship survived Halsey’s Typhoon and also were in Tokyo Bay when Japan officially surrendered to General MacArthur.

In September 1940, he and Katie Juanita Wixon were married. Katie died as the result of an automobile accident in 1956. On 4 November 1963 Edward married LaVon Dretsch.

He is survived by his wife, LaVon, of Springfield; son Marland (Barbara) of Carlisle, PA; stepson, Leslie Dretsch, of San Antonio, TX; four grandchildren; Edward (Tonya) Burckhardt, Greg Burckhardt, Megan (David) DiToro, Montz (Heather) Burckhardt; three step-grandchildren; Landon Dretsch, LaDonna Evans, and LaNaia Lammay; several great, step-great and great-great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his first wife, Katie; two sons, David and Alton; two brothers, Alvin and Gerald Burckhardt; two sisters, Sephorah Nixon Fernholtz, and Dorothy Muzik and niece Julie Burckhardt. He was a member of the American Legion. Edward’s enjoyments in life included gardening, fishing, making things with his hands and his mechanical skills, telling great stories, and helping his neighbors. His life motto was “I did the best with the tools I had.”

Marlene Forstrom (Hemmingsen), 71

Marlene Kaye Forstrom (Hemmingsen), 71, born on May 3, 1944 in Tracy, Minnesota and passed away peacefully surrounded by her family on November 6, 2015 in Rancho Mirage, California.

Marlene, the daughter of Vernon and Harriet Hemmingsen, grew up in Tracy and was a graduate of Macalester College in St. Paul (1966). She was a grade school teacher and lived in Minneapolis before moving to Los Angeles in 1976 with her husband Richard Forstrom (who preceded her in death in 1979) and two children Angela and John. 

In Los Angeles Marlene was active in the community as an AYSO soccer coach and commissioner. She also received a Master’s degree in Marriage, Family, Child Therapy and was a therapist for many years. 

In 1990 she married Larry Clark. Marlene and Larry spent recent years living in Rancho Mirage, Ca, traveling throughout the United States and Canada each summer in their RV, playing golf, hiking and enjoying time with their grandchildren.

For the last 13 years Marlene was being treated for Myelofibrosis, a rare slow moving but eventually fatal blood cancer. She was active member of support groups for individuals that shared her disease.

Marlene is survived by her husband Larry Clark; children John Forstrom (Carrie), Angela Forstrom Ronan (Sean), Kristy Clark Bouma (Boris), Kathy Smith (Don); brother Warren Hemmingsen (Rosemary), sisters Shari Allen and Janet Kamis (Don); sister-in-law Susan Forstrom; grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

William Habben, 89

Memorial services for William “Bill” Habben, 89, of Balaton will be Thursday, November 19 at 11:00 a.m. at Balaton United Methodist Church. Visitation is one hour prior to the service. Burial will be in Lakeside Cemetery, Balaton.  Arrangements are provided by Hartquist Funeral Home, Utoft-Johansen Chapel in Tyler. Send on-line condolences at www.hartquistfuneral.com.

William “Bill” George Habben was born April 12, 1926, to Herman and Viola (Hall) Habben in Balaton, Minnesota. He was baptized and confirmed at the Balaton United Methodist Church. He received his education at the Burchard and Balaton High School. Following his education he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps on April 7, 1944. Upon his return, he helped his father farm for a number of years, and later moved to the Minneapolis area where was employed as a welder in Robbinsdale, Minnesota.

On November, 4, 1978 he was united in marriage to Eileen (Petersen) Habben at Zion Lutheran Church in Tracy, Minnesota. The couple farmed and later operated a restaurant in Balaton, Minnesota. Eileen preceded him in death in 2002.

In 2013, Bill became a resident of Colonial Manor Nursing Home in Balaton, Minnesota where he died peacefully on Saturday, November 14, 2015 at the age of 89 years, seven months and two days.

Bill was a member of the Balaton United Methodist Church. 

Bill will be lovingly remembered by his sisters, Verna (Gerald) Mulder of Worthington, Minnesota, and Dorothy Mainous of Westminster, South Carolina; sisters-in-law, Margaret Habben of Balaton, Minnesota, and Laura Habben of Robbinsdale, Minnesota; many nieces, nephews, family and friends.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Eileen; parents, Herman and Viola; sister, LaDonna Johnson; and brothers, Edward and George Habben. 

Memorials may be directed to the Balaton United Methodist Church.