Brett Cooper, 57

 

Brett Collins Cooper age 57 of rural Walnut Grove passed away unexpectedly on Sunday, April 3, 2016 at his home due to heart failure.  Funeral services will be held at 1:30 pm Thursday at the Tracy Methodist Church.  Visitation will be held from 5:00-8:00 pm Wednesday with a prayer service at 7:30 pm at the Tracy Area Funeral Home.  Visitation will then continue one hour prior to services at the church on Thursday.  Interment is in the Tracy City Cemetery.  Memorials are preferred to the Sanford Hospital or to Avera Kidney Dialysis.  Online condolences may be sent at www.stephensfuneralservice.com.  Stephens Funeral Service - Tracy Area Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements.

Brett Cooper was born August 23, 1958 in Tracy, Minnesota to Harold and Joyce (Lindstrom) Cooper.  He was baptized and confirmed at the Methodist Church in Tracy.  Brett graduated from Tracy High School in 1976.  He loved helping his dad and uncles on their family farms.  He often tried to get the last hour of his school day free so he could get home early to start helping them with their cattle and hog operations.  Brett also drove truck for Anderson for many years, and later owned and operated his own truck.  Over the years, he made many trips across the country, from coast to coast.  Brett loved playing pool and played in the Tracy area pool league.  He enjoyed having coffee, visiting, and spending time with his family and friends.  He also enjoyed the companionship of his dog Jake.

Brett is survived by his son Tyson Cooper (fiancée Ashley Williams) of Tracy; daughter Jenny Wigen of Minneota; parents Harold and Joyce Cooper of rural Tracy; brother Kerry Cooper of Washington state; sister Nancy (Ron) Gausman of Morris; nieces and nephews: Todd and Drew Cooper, Derek (Kolby) Gausman, Kayla (Steve) Blair, and Alec Gausman; and many other relatives and friends. 

He is preceded in death by his grandparents, brothers Bruce in 1963 and Allen in 2010, aunt Ruby, and uncles Henry and Donald.

 

Robyn Johnson, 59

 

Robyn Anna Johnson passed away on April 4, 2016 surrounded by her family. Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 9 at the Church of Christ in Tracy, MN with a burial at Bethel Cemetery to follow. Visitation will be held prior to the service from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Robyn Anna Johnson was born July 9, 1956 to Elroy and Patricia (Patterson) Kircher, the youngest of four children. She grew up in Lamberton, MN. She was baptized in the Lamberton Church of Christ at age 12 and was a life long member of the Lamberton and Tracy congregations, serving as deaconess and Sunday School teacher.

Robyn graduated from Lamberton Public School in 1974. During school, Robyn loved all sports related events with softball being her favorite. After graduation, she went to work in Tracy for her Uncle Jack Chambers coopering boxcars. There she met and on May 17, 1975 married her one true love John. From their marriage, they were blessed with three daughters, Jessica, Stacie and Jill.

Robyn worked at several jobs including driving semi-truck for her father, John’s Super Value, Jack n Jill, Tracy Food Pride and driving school bus for Tracy Schools.

After all the blessings in her life, she received eight more that she calls her grandkids. Usually if you see Robyn, you see her daughters or grandkids all attending school or sporting events and she loved every minute of it.

In April 2006, Robyn was diagnosed with Pulmonary Fibrosis. In February 2016, she was diagnosed with Stage 4 Lung cancer.

Robyn’s hobbies have always included camping, fishing, eating out, being with family, watching her favorite TV show Gun Smoke and couch sitting her furry friend Percy. She would like to be remembered with a smile on her face and with her diagnosis even considered it a blessing. She’s going home to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. When people remember Robyn, she wants them to be reminded of Him.

Robyn is survived by husband John; daughters Jessica and her husband Jeremy, Stacie and her husband Pete, Jill and her fiancé Justin; grandchildren Abby, Ethan, Lauren, Zach, Emily, Ben, Ella, Trevor, Skyla, Allisyn, Brianna; siblings Karen, Kevin, Craig; and many other family members and friends.

Robyn is proceeded in death by her parents, Elroy and Pat and mother-in-law Jeanette.

 

Evelyn Kaufman, 102

 

The funeral service for Evelyn Kaufman, 102, of Tracy, formerly of Worthington, were held at 11:00 am on Saturday, April 2, 2016 at the Almlie-Horvath Funeral Home in Tracy with visitation one hour prior to the service. 

On Monday, March 28, 2016 Evelyn died at the Prairie View Senior Living in Tracy at the age of 102.

She is survived by her daughters, Yvonne (Harlan) Gunther, and Sheryll (Floyd) Nelson; many grandchildren, great grandchildren, great great grandchildren; sister, Phyllis Quillen of Southern, CA; three brothers, Delbert, Roger, and Kenny Heil, all of Southern, CA; and many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her husband, William, daughters, Marna Grube, and Leora Harlow, two brothers, Mahlon and Harvey, and sister, Arlene Frechette.

Arrangements by Almlie-Horvath Funeral Service, Tracy, Minnesota, www.almlie-horvath.com

 

James Thompson, 84

 

Funeral services for James R. Thompson, 84 of Coleman, SD were held on Thursday, March 31, 2016 at Colman Lutheran Church with burial in Colman Cemetery.

Jim was born October 21, 1931 in Chicago, IL to Robert James and Palma (Nybo) Thompson. They moved to Tracy, MN when Jim was four and he received his early education there. Jim then worked at the Ford Garage in Tracy. He entered the U.S. Army November 5, 1948 and was discharged August 16, 1951 serving during the Korean War.

 Jim married Audrey VanMeveren on December 31, 1950 in Tracy. They moved to Colman, SD in 1961 where he and Kenny Ross started T & R Electric. Jim married Rosemary Bowar on August 2, 1984 in Colman. He continued to work until 2015.

James R. Thompson passed away Sunday, March 27, 2016 at his home in Colman, SD.

Jim is survived by his wife Rosemary; sons, James A. (Susan), Colman; Daniel (Donna), Egan; William, Valley Park, MO; David and Christopher (Demi), both of Sioux Falls; stepdaughters, Elizabeth (Clifford) Mikesell, Cheyenne, WY; Stephene Lebert, Colman; Jennifer Watson, Bozeman, MT, numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren; siblings, Ken (Jan) Ross, Gary (Sally) Ross, both of Colman; Lucy Wendell, Egan; Sharon (Vern) Jaacks, Colman; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Jim was preceded in death by his parents, Robert and Palma, stepfather William Ross, wife Audrey, infant son Bradley, siblings, Betty Ziemke, Ron Ross, Richard Ross, John Ross, brother-in-law Francis Wendell, and two grandchildren.