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Betty A. Grundahl Obituary – 5/7/2020


Betty Ann Grundahl, age 81, of Hutchinson passed away Thursday, May 7, 2020, at her home.

Private family burial service will be Saturday, May 16, 2020, at Stockholm Lutheran Church cemetery with Pastor Mark Little officiating. Honorary urn bearers will be Betty’s grandsons, Matthew Beckman, Alex Grundahl, and Nathan Ebeling. A celebration of Betty’s life will be held at a later date.

Betty Ann (Beneke) Grundahl, was born March 16, 1939, to Paul and Justine (Eck) Beneke, in Aitkin, MN. She grew up in Aitkin and graduated from Aitkin High School in 1957.

April 12, 1958 Betty married John Curtis Samuel Grundahl, of Dassel, MN at First Lutheran Church of Aitkin. They were blessed with three children, Bryce, Brenda, and Bonnie. They made their home in rural Dassel for 61 1⁄2 years before they sold it and moved to Hutchinson.

Betty spent a majority of her time as a homemaker, however, she did have many part-time jobs. She worked at Northland Canning Company and later Faribault Foods as a taste tester, at Minnesota Poultry in Dassel, Gage in Howard Lake, and 3M in Hutchinson (for the 900 hours).

She also enjoyed sewing clothes for herself and her daughters. She liked to clean (especially her floors and windows), going on vacations, and spending time during the winter in the southern states. For the last 12 years they escaped Minnesota winters going to Alabama where they met many wonderful friends.

Betty loved spending time with her grandchildren and watching them at their activities, and then started taking each one out for a special dinner each year. She enjoyed playing cards and games (especially when she won). While watching and feeding birds in their back yard, she really enjoyed seeing cardinals and hummingbirds.

Betty was a longtime and faithful member of Stockholm Lutheran Church, where she served as a Sunday school teacher and spent many hours helping to clean the church.

Betty served for more than 12 years on the Meeker Cooperative Light and Power Association Board of Directors. She enjoyed listening to her husband sing with the Litchfield Area Male Chorus, which included the benefit of more trips.

In May of 2019, Betty was diagnosed with ALS and was very courageous as she fought this disease. Her husband was a wonderful caregiver as she lost strength and needed more care. For the last two weeks she was in hospice.

Betty is survived by her husband, Curtis of Hutchinson; children, Bryce (Kim) Grundahl of Hutchinson, Brenda (John) Beckman of Hutchinson, and Bonnie (Geoff) Ebeling of Rosemount; grandchildren, Jessica (Corey) Grothman of Victoria, Johanna (Mark) Hanneman of Hutchinson, Matthew (Abby) Beckman of St. Louis Park, Amy Grundahl of Carver, Alex Grundahl of Hutchinson, Nathan Ebeling of Rosemount, and Lauren Ebeling of Rosemount; great-grandchildren, Carsten, Elin and Katja Grothman, and Henrik and Annika Hanneman; sister-in-law, Jeanette Braastad of Ham Lake; and nieces, and nephews.

Betty was preceded in death by parents, Paul and Justine Beneke; twin brothers, Robert, who was killed in the Korean War in May of 1952, and Ralph; granddaughter, Bethany Beckman; sister-in-law, Aira Beneke; and brother-in-law, Kenneth Braastad.

Memorials are preferred to The Minnesota Chapter of the ALS Association, webmn.alsa.org/.

Arrangements by Swanson-Peterson Funeral Home in Cokato.

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