Mildred Prudoehl

MILDRED VERNA (KOETZ) PRUDOEHL

Mildred Verna (Koetz) Prudoehl, aged 91, passed away on Saturday, January 21, 2017, at Lake Winona Manor, after a nine year battle with Alzheimer's.

She was born to Bernard and Anna (Pflughoeft) Koetz on May 16, 1925, on Pleasant Ridge, Winona. Growing up during the Depression, times were tough and everyone in her family of nine worked hard. She carried that strong work ethic with her for the rest of her life. She loved school and was a good student. One of her greatest joys in life was reading.

She met William Emil Prudoehl at one of the many dances that used to take place around the Winona area, and they married on September 23, 1950. In September of 1952 she, Bill, and the first of their three children moved onto and rented a farm north of Utica. They eventually bought the farm and she worked right alongside Bill raising calves for the dairy herd, helping in the fields, unloading hay, and keeping the farm record books. At the same time she was taking care of three kids, cooking, baking, doing laundry, raising a big vegetable garden, preserving a great deal of produce, raising chickens, rabbits, ducks, and geese, trapping pesky gophers, AND taking the time to plant and enjoy her flowers.

Besides working on the farm, she worked outside the home for many years at Rush Products in Lewiston and later the Whitewater Nursing Home in St. Charles, where many residents became her special friends. She was a good cook (just ask the silo-filling neighbors still around about her baked beans and homemade bread!), but she would rather have been outside or reading a good book or doing some needlework. She loved to travel and enjoyed trips to the Black Hills, Yellowstone, Niagara Falls, Mesa Verde, and Mackinac Island among other places. But simple travels like a drive up the Mississippi River or a walk in the woods were just as valued.

To say that she was a devoted wife and mother is an understatement.  There was nothing she would not do to make her loved one's days on this earth happier. Her love, dedication, encouragement, and sacrifice for them knew no bounds. She loved our Lord and saw to it that her children received a Christian education at St. John's School in Lewiston.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, William; children, Jean and Roger; stepchildren, Donn and Patricia Prudoehl; daughter-in-law, Maxine; granddaughter, Patricia; brothers, Alvin, Rowland and Vernon Koetz; sister, Lenora Kammerer; and 17 brothers and sisters-in-law.

She is survived by her daughter, Kathy; grandson, Nick (Bonnie) Prudoehl; 12 great-grandchildren, 14 great-great-grandchildren; brothers, David (Mary) Koetz, Winona, and Arnold (Elaine) Koetz,  Austin, MN; sister-in-law, Bernice Prudoehl, St Charles; and many nieces and nephews.

Funeral Services will be held at 11 AM, on Saturday, January 28, 2017, at St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, Lewiston, MN.  The Reverend Michael A. Lindemann and the Reverend Paul Kuckhahn will officiate.

Mildred will be laid to rest in Hillside Cemetery, St. Charles, MN.

Visitation will be held from 5 PM until 7 PM, on Friday, January 27, 2017, at St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church.  Visitation will also be held on Saturday, January 28, 2017, from 10 AM until the time of the service.

Pallbearers will be: Nick Prudoehl, Luke Prudoehl, Levi Prudoehl, Amos Prudoehl, Gideon Prudoehl and Sam Prudoehl.

Mildred’s daughter wishes to thank the staff of Lake Winona Manor for the care and respect they gave to her mother.

On-line condolences or memories may be left for Mildred’s family at www.watkowski-mulyck.com