Delano Herald Journal

Serving the communities of Delano, Loretto, Montrose, MN, and the surrounding area

Lester Prairie woman releases CD of piano music



Cheryl Jakobitz of Lester Prairie has found a way to use music and her faith to create a tribute to her late husband, Roger.

They had been married more than 16 years when Roger died after a battle with cancer in November 2004.

While thinking about how to pay tribute to Roger, and preserve some of the memories of their time together, she came up with the idea of producing a CD.

It took about a year to produce, but it is now complete and available for sale.

“Praising God, Remembering Roger” is the title of the CD, which includes 14 songs.

“This is my way of praising God for being able to have someone like that in my life. He was a good partner, and I am just thankful for it,” Jakobitz said.

The CD features Jakobitz playing the piano on a collection of Roger’s favorite hymns.

“This is relaxing music, and listening to me play these songs was something he really enjoyed when he was sick,” Jakobitz commented.

It took a long time to get from her original idea to the final product.

After she made the decision to record the CD, she contacted Jim Jordahl of Hutchinson to do the recording.

Jordahl owns a recording studio, but the CD was recorded at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Hutchinson, to enable them to use the church’s grand piano.

After Jordahl finished the original recording, it was sent to another company for final engineering and production.

During this time, the design for the label was also completed.

Jakobitz recently received shipment of the finished product.

The CD can be purchased through local churches, and at Angvall Hardware & Mercantile in Lester Prairie. It can also be purchased directly from Jakobitz.

The cost of the CD is $12, and $2 of that goes to the church that makes the sale.

The CD jacket contains a message from Jakobitz. It describes how Roger always helped others whenever he could.

She is now finding ways to use this CD tribute to help others. She has brought the CD to hospice houses in McLeod County and Waconia, so that others who are battling illness can find comfort in the music, just as Roger did when he was sick.

Roger helped her start “The Living Water Puppets,” a teaching tool that uses hand puppets to help tell Bible stories and to communicate other educational messages.

Roger was a carpenter, and he helped her by building props. He also ran the sound for her productions.

The puppets have been educational for Cheryl, too.

She explained that she recently took a camel puppet to the Glencoe expo.

“People would talk to the camel, they wouldn’t talk to me. And, it wasn’t just the kids. Everyone was doing that,” she commented.

Music has always been a part of Jakobitz’s life.

She plays piano at Grace Bible Church in Silver Lake. She also plays once each month at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Lester Prairie.

For many years, she taught piano lessons.

She has also shared her music by playing piano for musicals at Lester Prairie High School.

Apart from her music and church activities, Jakobitz enjoys spending time with her nine grandchildren.

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