M. Lorraine Rieck

Mildred Lorraine Rieck, 96, Beardsley, MN, passed away Wednesday, November 9, 2016, at the Grace Home in Graceville, MN.

Funeral services will be Saturday, November 12, at 2:00 p.m. at the United Methodist Church in Beardsley with Rev. Paul Warnier officiating. Music will be provided by organist Kathy Issendorf.

Burial will be in the Midway Cemetery, Beardsley. Pallbearers will be grandsons, Brad and Curtis Rieck, Steven Sudman, Alan DeFrance, Paul Bohn and Dan Carlson.

Visitation will be Saturday one hour prior to the service at the church. The Eggers Funeral Home in Rosholt, SD, is in charge of the arrangements.

Lorraine was born December 12, 1919, to parents William B. and Elvina (Erickson) Chilson in Sisseton, SD. She was baptized May 2, 1920, into the Lutheran faith. She spent her early years on a farm northeast of Sisseton where she started school. When Lorraine was in second grade, her family moved to a farm in the Wilmot, SD, area. On June 16, 1935, Lorraine was confirmed in the Peever Lutheran Church. During her sophomore year at Peever High School, the family moved to her grandparent's farm west of Peever, SD. Lorraine graduated from Peever High School in the spring of 1938.

While in high school, Lorraine participated in Glee Club for four years and sang in the sextet two years. She also played basketball for two years and took part in the senior class play. Following high school she helped neighbor ladies during threshing season and whenever they needed some extra help.

On May 3, 1939, Lorraine and Harold Herman Rieck were married in Sisseton. They had six children: Dale, Judy, Gary, Linda, Kerry, and Glen. Harold and Lorraine farmed in the Beardsley area until the fall of 1941, when they moved to Wichita, KS, where Harold was employed at Boeing Aircraft for two and a half years. The family then moved back to Beardsley and farmed in the area until 1951.

In 1958, Harold and Lorraine left the farm and moved into Beardsley. Lorraine transferred from the Peever Lutheran Church to Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Beardsley where she taught Sunday school for twenty years. She also taught Bible School and Release Time classes, worked in the school cafeteria for ten years, and substituted for several more years. Lorraine also volunteered as a driver for the Senior Citizen program in the Beardsley area.

Lorraine enjoyed sewing, embroidering, crocheting, and doing crossword puzzles. She loved the visits with her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren. She made many afghans and quilts as gifts for family members and joined a group of women at church in quilt-making which they gave to organizations as donations to less fortunate people. Lorraine entered Grace Home in Graceville, MN, in October 2008 where she spent the remainder of her life.

Lorraine is survived by two sons, Dale (Kay) Rieck of Big Stone City, SD, and Glen (Diane) Rieck of New Market, MN; three daughters, Judith (Gerald) Sudman of Sparta, WI, Linda (Robert) DeFrance of Minneapolis, MN, and Kerry Rieck of Shoreview, MN; 9 grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren; 7 great-great-grandchildren; one brother, William (Jrene) Chilson of Watertown, SD; and a host of other relative and friends.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Harold; one son, Gary; one great-granddaughter, Jeri Sudman; her parents, William and Elvina Chilson; and brothers and sisters, Deloris Hortness, Byron Chilson, Verna Klemm, Jeanne Leiseth, Wilma Sundheim, Darwin Chilson, and Avis Wilson.