Leona Schultz, 102, of Winsted
Leona Sophie Schultz (Gennrich) Dietel, 102, of Winsted, formerly of Glencoe, died Friday, Dec. 15, 2017.
Funeral services were held Tuesday, Dec. 19, at St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lester Prairie with the Rev. Eric Nelson officiating. Jane Holasek was the organist. Congregational hymns were “Just As I Am,” “Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us,” “I’m But a Stranger Here,” “Abide With Me” and “Silent Night.”
Casket bearers were Orlin Hoernemann, Dale Dietel, Roger Dietel, David Rustad, Ray Hoernemann and Louis Dammann. Interment was in the church cemetery.
Leona Sophie Schultz (Gennrich) Dietel was born Nov. 8, 1915, to John and Lucy (Hoof) Dietel in Todd County near Bertha. She was baptized Dec. 5, 1915, by the Rev. Otto Repp at Evangelical Church in Bertha. The family moved to Lester Prairie around 1920, where she attended District 5 school until eighth grade. She was confirmed April 30, 1930, by the Rev. E.J. Becker at the United Church of Christ in Lester Prairie. Her confirmation verse was Psalms 111:10. She attended Lester Prairie High School for two years until she was sent out to work on area farms. She worked on Sauter’s farm in the Norwood Young America area at the Bandemers and near Lester Prairie.
On May 19, 1943, she was married to Richard “Dick” Gennrich at the United Church of Christ by the Rev. H.R. Burkett. They were blessed with two wonderful daughters, Margel and Carol. She was a 4-H sewing leader, taught Sunday school, was active in the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League (LWML), and did lots of canning and freezing of vegetables and fruits for sauce. She and Mr. Gennrich farmed for 26 years on a small farm right outside of Lester Prairie until he died on May 23, 1970.
Leona then did sewing, both new and alterations, made Barbie doll clothes, worked at the Alice Haney Nursing Home Annex and cleaned houses.
On Jan. 16, 1976, she was married to Clarence Schultz at St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church by the Rev. A. Rasch, and they made their home in Glencoe. The couple did a lot of traveling, which included trips to Europe, Israel and Alaska. They were married for 13 years before Mr. Schultz died on June 9, 1989.
Leona was a very giving person and worked as a volunteer hairdresser at the Glencoe long-term facility for many years, and also crocheted baby caps for newborns. She was a resident of Orchard Estates in Glencoe for 22 years until she had a stroke in 2015. Her favorite hobbies and pastimes were playing games, cards, fishing, doing puzzles, knitting, embroidery, crocheting, watching baseball games (her grandsons and the Twins), and going on outings whenever someone asked her to go along. She lived her faith openly and enjoyed singing hymns, even while she was in hospice. When asked what her secret was to aging, she replied, “I just live every day the Lord gives me.”
She is survived by her daughters, Margel (Rodger) Kirchhoff of New Germany and Carol Wolter of Winsted; grandsons, Greg (Melissa) Kirchhoff and Brian Kirchhoff; stepgrandchildren, Shelly (Dale) O’Groske, Nichole (Dan) Stowers, Sonya Maldeney-Cull and Noel Schultz; great-granddaughter, Keira Kirchhoff; stepgreat-grandchildren, Reed O’Groske, Ryan O’Groske, Nicholas Stowers, Carolyn Stowers, Alex Maldeney and Caroline Cull; brother-in-law, Alvin Westphal; nieces, nephews, other relatives and many friends.
She was preceded in death by her husbands, Gerhard Gennrich and Clarence Schultz; parents, John and Lucy Dietel; grandson, Chad Kirchhoff; stepchildren, Rodney Schultz, Ross Schultz and Dana (James) Reed; siblings, Clarence (Ora) Dietel, Elmer (Cecelia) Dietel, Ray (Delores) Dietel, Irene (Hugo) Klaustermeier, Linda (Gilbert) Hoernemann and Adela (Stanley) Rustad; and brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, Lorena (Arthur) Dammann, Malinda Westphal, Albert Schultz and Elmer (Mahala) Schultz.
Arrangements were with the Paul-McBride Funeral Chapel of Lester Prairie. Online obituaries and guest book are available at www.mcbridechapel.com.
