Stella Raasch

Funeral services for Stella Raasch of Morris, formerly of Chokio will be held Monday, March 28, 2022 at 10:30 a.m. at Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Chokio, with Reverend Erik Rundquist officiating. Visitation will be Sunday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., with a prayer service at 7:00 at Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Chokio and for one hour prior to services at the church on Monday. Burial will be in Synnes Cemetery, rural Alberta, MN.

Stella Francis Jorgenson was born to John and Delia (Basinger) Jorgenson January 27th, 1928, in Pepperton Township, Stevens County, Minnesota. She was united in marriage to Lloyd Raasch on April 17th, 1945, at Trinity Lutheran Church, south of Alberta. The first couple years of their marriage were not easy, because Lloyd was almost immediately called away to war in Europe. Once he safely returned, they started farming south of Chokio, where they lived until they retired and moved into Chokio. Many locals still remember the “Pink Palace”, Stella sure loved that color! Stella never let any grass grow under her feet, she waitressed at several different restaurants over the years, she worked on the farm side by side with Lloyd, and she always had lots of chickens, both to butcher and for eggs. She and Lloyd cleaned Our Saviors church for 13 years, and for over 25 years she worked at the Chokio Senior Center, both as a volunteer and a paid employee. She will long be remembered for her doughnuts, pies and cookies. She loved to bake; it was almost impossible to visit Stella without her serving you some tasty treat. Stella also enjoyed gardening, she was 89 when she moved into assisted living at the Legacy in Morris, but she still took it upon herself to make sure that the flowers around the building were well taken care of, even keeping her own flower box outside of her window! The older she got, the more nicknames she earned: Mrs. Stella, Energizer Bunny, Spitfire, and Spunky are just a few given to her by friends and her caregivers. Her only “lazy” pastime was that she never made it past a swing without trying it out!  Family was always important to Stella, there were many Sunday and holiday dinners out at the farm, and she and Lloyd loved the annual family vacations at the lake with all the kids and grandkids. The grandkids all knew there would be fresh baked cookies every day at Grandma Stella’s cabin! Lloyd and Stella had many good friends. They often spent evenings playing cards or going dancing at the Lakeside ballroom, where they had a standing reservation for a booth on Saturday nights.

On the morning of March 23, 2022, our Lord called Stella Raasch home, so she could spend the rest of eternity with her beloved husband Lloyd, whom she had missed dancing with ever since his death in 2005.

Stella is survived by her children: Linda Anderson, Michael, Sandra (Richard) Reimers, Barbara (Wayne) Charles, Lorna (Clark) DeCamp, Jackie (Jim) Krosch, Pam (Paul) Daly, Connie (Wayne) Gillespie; 25 Grandchildren; 51 Great-grandchildren with number 52 on its way; her first Great-great grandchild should be arriving any day; and sister-in-law Punky Raasch. She was preceded in death by her husband Lloyd; infant daughter Peggy; son-in-law Robert Anderson; her parents; brothers Harlan (Bud) and Milas (Molly); and sister Fern.

IN LIEU OF FLOWERS THE FAMILY PREFERS MEMORIALS TO BE GIVEN IN STELLA'S NAME TO LOCAL CHARITIES.

Pedersen Funeral Home in Morris is in charge of the arrangements.