Obituaries from the week of Nov. 10, 2010
Fern Steffen, 64
Fern Isabelle Steffen, age 64,
of Kiester, MN, died Sunday, November 7, 2010, at Parkview Care Center in
Wells, MN. Funeral Services will
be held Friday, November 12, 2010 at 10:30 AM at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church
in Kiester, MN. Visitation will be Thursday, November 11, 2010 from 5-8 PM at
Bruss-Heitner Funeral Home in Wells, MN, and will continue one hour prior to
the service at the church on Friday. Pastor John Malm will officiate, and
burial will be in Walnut Grove Cemetery, Walnut Grove, Redwood Co., Minnesota.
Bruss-Heitner Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements.
Fern Isabelle Steffen was born
June 25, 1946 in Austin, MN. Her parents were Maynard Jacob (Jake) Enright and
Betty Lou (Berge) Enright. Fern was baptized at St. Augustine Catholic Chuch,
and confirmed at St. Olaf Lutheran Church in Austin, MN. Fern was the first
born, and has two younger sisters, Kathleen Mary Enright and Brenda Jean
Broskoff of Austin, MN.
Fern took pride in being named
after her father’s mother Fern Isabelle (Brugger) Enright who had died from
complications of pneumonia a few days after giving birth to a baby girl.
Fern graduated from Austin
High School in June of 1964 and went on to the Lutheran Bible Institute in
Golden Valley, MN graduating in June of 1966 with a Parish Worker’s Certificate.
In June of 1973 Fern married
David Martin Paulson. They were blessed with one son, Theodore Martin Paulson
born in Sioux Falls, SD in 1977. In 1982 they were divorced, but remained
amicable to one another.
On a wonderful day November 8,
1986 Fern married Richard Lee Steffen at Calvary Lutheran Church in Rapid City,
SD. She and her son Ted then moved to Storla, SD where Richard served two
Lutheran Churches as Pastor. Richard has 3 children from his previous marriage,
Craig, Virginia and David and they also were a part of their wedding ceremony.
After Fern’s marriage to
Richard she went back to college and got a Bachelor of Arts Degree from
Augustana College in 1993 majoring in Early Childhood and Elementary Education,
minoring in Special Education. Fern was on the Dean’s list and worked hard for
her degree.
Fern worked for Headstart in a
number of places through the years, as a Preschool Teacher. She loved working
with young children. Fern would sometimes say, I get to see their eyes light up
when they explore and learn new things and I get paid for this, wow! The
self-esteem of each child was important to her.
Fern loved her family and
friends. She felt very blessed as a wife, mother and grandmother. Her family
was all precious in her eyes. Fern valued her sense of humor; she felt laughter
was good medicine. She never felt abandoned by God, her faith was important to
her. She felt life was a gift, and she felt very blessed in spite of her breast
cancer.
Embraced in Fern’s heart
forever: Husband, Richard Steffen of Kiester, MN; son Theodore “Ted” Paulson,
wife Shannon and their children, Quentin and Christian Paulson of Austin, MN,
and Chelsey Tate of Sioux Falls, SD. Dick’s children, David Steffen and wife
Heather of Eagan, MN, Virginia Steffen and daughter Joy of Chicago, IL, and
Craig Steffen and wife Becky of Middlesboro, KY. Brother and sister-in-laws: Bob and Ellen Steffen of St.
Louis, MO, Susan and Bob Moore of Copper Center, Alaska, Judy Sheldon of Lauderdale,
MN, and John Steffen of Anchorage, Alaska.
Fern is survived by many
relatives and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents, Jake and Betty
Enright of Austin, MN and in-laws Alfred and Helene Steffen of Lamberton, MN,
and sister-in-law Betty (Steffen) Augst of Columbia, MO.
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