Richard Lundquist, 56, of rural Granite Falls, died on Monday, September 7, 2009 at his home.  
    Funeral Services were conducted on Saturday, September 12, 2009 at 2:00 p.m. at Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Montevideo. Interment was in Hillcrest Cemetery near Granite Falls.  
    Richard Dale Lundquist was born in Rapid City, South Dakota, and raised in Granite Falls.  Richard was known as a piano tuner and musician.  He enjoyed playing piano, composing music, photography, landscaping and wildlife. A most important event in his life was his baptism as one of Jehovah's Witnesses on July 8, 2000, in symbol of his dedication to Jehovah God. He enjoyed sharing his faith with others. Among his favorite scriptures was Psalms 37:29. 
    He is survived by his mother; Mardelle (Art) Spangler of Green Valley, Arizona; brothers: John (Elizabeth) Lundquist of Long Lake, and David Lundquist of Minneapolis; his sister; Kristin (Jerry) Kortgard of Excelsior; his children: Elfie (Byron) Utitiaj of Willmar, Jamie (Joshua) Marien of Rice, and John (Erin) Lundquist of Sauk Rapids; and grandson Corbin Marien. 
    He was preceded in death by his father, John Lundquist.
    Anderson Funeral Home of Montevideo was in charge of funeral arrangements.

MONTEVIDEO — Todd Gregory Johnson, 56, of Montevideo, formerly of Granite Falls, died Friday at Golden group home in Montevideo after a 20-year battle with Huntington’s disease.

The service will at 3 p.m. Saturday at Granite Falls Lutheran Church.

Visitation will be for one hour prior to the service at the church. A musical memorial will be at 8 p.m. Saturday at Bootlegger’s Supper Club. Memorials will be divided equally between the Huntington’s Disease Foundation and Rice Hospice.

He was born March 7, 1953, in Minneapolis to Lyle and Janet Johnson. He attended elementary school and junior high school in St. Louis Park. The family moved to Granite Falls in 1968. He graduated from Granite Falls High School in 1971. He attended college at the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities and St. Cloud State University. He studied fluid power technology at Granite Falls Area Vocational Technical Institute, graduating in 1978.

He married Karen Knutson on Feb. 25, 1978, in Granite Falls. They lived near Granite Falls and later in Fridley. He worked at Victor Fluid Power in Granite Falls and later at Cylinder City and M & M Hydraulics in the Twin Cities. He was a long-time member of the Good Time Rail Road band and played in several other bands as well. He was active in Granite Falls Community Theater and sang in the Granite Falls Lutheran Church Choir. For the past several years, he lived in Montevideo.

He is survived by his children: Emily Johnson (and fiancee Daniel Caplan) of Minneapolis and Elliot Johnson of Dresser, Wis.; one grandson; brothers: Kim (and Cynthia) Johnson of Montevideo and Craig of Minneapolis; and his former spouse of Dresser, Wis.

He was preceded in death by his parents and one brother.

Jerry Gerdes, 52 of Mesa, Arizona, formerly of Montevideo, died December 29, 2005 of a heart attack at this home. He is survived by his wife and three children, a son in-law and daughter in-law and two grandchildren. Jerry graduated from Granite Falls High School in 1971. He is survived by a brother, John Gerdes of Montevideo, and a sister, Donna Manthey of Hazel Run.

May 27, 1953 – Aug. 19, 2007

BLOMKEST — Kristin Marie Holwerda, 54, of Blomkest died Sunday at MeritCare Hospital in Fargo, N.D.

The service will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Roseland Reformed Church in Roseland. Burial will be in the church cemetery.

Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday at Harvey Anderson Funeral Home in Willmar and one hour prior to the service Saturday at the church.

She was born May 27, 1953, in Granite Falls to Clayton Sr. and Bernadine (Nephew) Swalstad. She grew up in Granite Falls and then Lakota, N.D., for four years, before returning to Granite Falls.

She married Dale Lalim on Dec. 26, 1970, in Maynard. They lived in Maynard, Sacred Heart and Granite Falls. She worked in several care centers and later worked at Mid Continent Cabinetry for 15 years. In 1988, she moved to Willmar and attended Willmar Community College, where she graduated in 1991.

She married Gerald Holwerda on June 8, 1991. They farmed in Blomkest. She graduated from St. Cloud State in 1992 and received her master’s degree in 2002 from Southwest State in Marshall. She worked as a special education teacher for Willmar Public Schools in the adolescent treatment unit at Willmar Regional Treatment Center for 14 years.

She was a member of Roseland Reformed Church where she was in the Covenant Group and Sunday school program and served as a superintendent, a teacher and a computer technologist.

She was survived by her husband; children: Pam (and Scott) Schmiedeberg of Jamestown, N.D., Stacy (and Andy) Peterson of New London, Phillip Lalim of Marshall; stepchildren: Pat Lippert (and special friend Rod Sherman) of Raymond, Karen (and Randy) Harrier of Olivia, Larry (and Teresa) Holwerda, Terry (and Deb) Holwerda, and Sharon (and Jim) Krogman, all of Danube, Judy (and Jim) Hatchett of Orono and Scott (and Nicole) Holwerda of Willmar; 25 grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; her mother of Nashville, Ill.; her siblings: Bruce (and Myrna) Baumann of Rugby, N.D., Cheryl (and Sonney) Bohlman of Granite Falls, Dave (and Jean) Swalstad of Worland, Wyo., Sue Swalstad of Billings, Mont., Kathy (and Tom) Alford of Laurel, Mont., Mary Kellen of Willmar, Debra (and Rick) Morris of Nashville, Ill., Vickie (and Kerry) Wanke of Granite Falls, Clayton (and DeEtte) Swalstad of Tampa, Fla., and Frank (and Joyce) Baumann of Spring, Texas.

She was preceded in death by her father; and by her stepfather, Frank Baumann Sr.

   Peggy JoAnn Avelsgaard, 57, of Ottertail, formerly of Granite Falls, died Saturday, June 5, 2010 at the Perham Memorial Hospital after a four and a half year  courageous battle with ovarian cancer.
    Funeral services were held on Thursday, June 10 at the Calvary Lutheran Church in Perham, officiated by Pastor John Krueger. Interment was at Calvary Memorial Cemetery in Perham.
    Peggy was born in Granite Falls to parents Stenword and Eunice Bjorndal on February 22, 1953. She was baptized at our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Sacred Heart. She was confirmed at Granite Falls Lutheran Church and graduated from Granite Falls High School in 1971. She then attended Moorhead State University, graduating in 1974 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Social Services. In 1976, Peggy met Michael Avelsgaard, from Appleton. They were married at Granite Falls Lutheran Church on February 25, 1978. They started their married life in Lexington, Kentucky and after four months moved back to Minnesota, settling in Ottertail. Their daughter, Christina, was born on October 11, 1982. As a  member of Calvary Lutheran Church, Peggy took on roles as a Sunday School teacher, a superintendent and a member of the Youth Committee. For two years she dabbled in the retail business by starting her own business, “Peggy’s Country Shoppe.” Early in her career she was the Sexual Abuse Coordinator at Lakeland  Mental Health Services. She worked for Freshwater Special Education as well as Ottertail Social Services for a period of years and in 1990 she began working as an Inter-agency Service Coordinator for families who had children ages birth to five years old with disabilities. In addition to this, in 1992 she began working for West Central Community Services as a Qualified Mental Retardation Professional, performing assessments and writing programs and progress reports for her clients. She continued in this final role until she passed away. Throughout her career Peggy served on committees too numerous to mention. Peggy had many outside interests including designing and maintaining her gardens, boating, golfing and decorating their home. She especially cherished being a mother, attending all of Christina’s events and activities as she grew up. Although she enjoyed their travels and adventures as a family, her home was the center of her world.
    Peggy is survived by her husband, Michael; daughter, Christina Ellertson (Kirk); and grandson, Carter. She is also survived by her parents, Stenword and Eunice Bjorndal; brother, Scott Bjorndal (Karla) of Granite Falls; sister, LeAnn Thus of Eden Prairie; and several nieces and nephews.
    Arrangements were with Schoeneberger Funeral Home of Perham.

Williams, Gary J. "Papa" Age 61, of Apple Valley, MN. Went to be with the Lord in heaven on March 6, 2015. Gary found his sobriety 33 years ago, and then dedicated his life to helping others do the same. He loved arts and music. Gary was beloved by family and friends, his greatest joy was his grandkids. Celebration of life will be held on Saturday, March 14th at 3 PM at Fountain of Life Gospel Church, 3952 10th Ave. S., Mpls. Visitation 1 hour prior to service. "We love you to the moon and back infinity times, Papa" - Malina, Jimbo, Dilly, Amirra, Nolan and Baby Fager.