Bertha Fuechtmann

Bertha B. Fuechtmann, age 95, of Long Prairie, formerly of Melrose, died Sunday, June 22, 2008 at St. Michael's Hospital in Sauk Centre.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. Friday, June 27 at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Melrose with Rev. Vince Lieser officiating. Interment will be in the parish cemetery.

Friends may call from 4 to 9 p.m. Thursday and from 8 to 10 a.m. Friday at Patton-Schad Funeral Home in Melrose. Christian Mothers and Sts. Bernard & Elizabeth Council will pray at 6 p.m. followed by parish prayers at 7:30 p.m. Thursday evening at the funeral home.

Bertha Fuechtmann was born May 28, 1913 in Melrose to Frank and Elizabeth (Gramke) Wielenberg. She was a graduate of Sauk Centre High School and Teacher's College. On February 6, 1934 she married Henry J. Fuechtmann Sr. at St. Boniface Catholic Church in Melrose. The couple farmed north of Melrose. After Henry's death in 1968, she continued farming with the assistance of her son, Henry Jr. She moved to Sauk Centre in 1977, when Henry Jr. purchased the farm. She enjoyed her retirement years gardening, canning, and driving her scooter around town. She moved to rural Grey Eagle in 1998, where she again put her farming experience to use feeding the chickens and picking eggs. In 2006, she moved to Long Prairie and lived with her daughter, Arlene.Bertha was a member of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Melrose, Christian Mothers, and Sts. Bernard & Elizabeth Council. She enjoyed gardening, reading, working on puzzles, quilting, and watching her favorite game show, Wheel of Fortune.

Survivors include her children, Edna Molitor (Robert) Kirchner of Elrosa, Dottie Ritter of St. Joseph, Bertie Hoeper of Villard, Ralph (Karen) Fuechtmann of Fridley, Marian (Joseph) Froehle of Cold Spring, Ethel (Robert) Donnay of Watkins, Henry (Agnes) Fuechtmann of Sauk Centre, Earl (Mary) Fuechtmann of Little Falls, Rose (Michael) Braegelmann of Richmond, Karen (Robert) Pugh of North St. Paul, Carl (Lisa) Fuechtmann of Shoreview, Arlene (Stan) Brinkmann of Long Prairie, and Allen (Laurie) Fuechtmann of Afton; 56 grandchildren; 77 great-grandchildren; and sister, Marie Bosl of Sauk Centre.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Henry on May 12, 1968; children in infancy, Delores and Esther; 8 grandchildren; 4 great-grandchildren; brothers, Henry, Edwin, and Joseph Wielenberg; sisters, Anna Kemper, Agnes Kemper, Magdalen Soenneker, and Alvina Strom; and sons-in-law, Elmer Molitor, Delbert Ritter, and Melvin Hoeper.