Harriet Oehrlein

Harriet I. Oehrlein, age 90 of Osakis, formerly Sauk Centre, died peacefully Tuesday, January 17, 2012 at Community Memorial Home in Osakis, Minnesota.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, January 23 at St. Paul's Catholic Church in Sauk Centre with Rev. James Statz officiating. Interment will follow in the parish cemetery.

Visitation will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Sunday at the Patton-Schad Funeral Home in Sauk Centre and also Monday at the church one hour prior to the service. Parish prayers will be held at 5 p.m. Sunday evening at the funeral home.

Harriet Isabel Steele was born August 22, 1921 in Farmington, Minnesota to Theodore and Alvina (Allen) Steele. On October 29, 1940 she was united in marriage to Alois H. Oehrlein at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. The couple resided in the Twin Cities where Harriet worked at Montgomery Ward as a mail order clerk. They then moved to Grey Eagle where they farmed until 1987. After retiring, the couple moved to Sauk Centre where Harriet lived until moving to Osakis in March of 1997. Harriet was a hard worker and there was nothing that she couldn't do. She was "the boss", which meant that she was often in charge of the farm chores and the housekeeping. She was often using snow banks in place of the refrigerator and using crocks in the basement to can all kinds of meats and vegetables. In addition to canning, she was a great cook and baker, especially baking bread on the old stove. She enjoyed gardening and playing cards, or rather, winning at cards. She even won the last game that she played.

Harriet was a member of St. Paul's Catholic Church.

Harriet is survived by her children, Al (Joyce Carty) Oehrlein, Mary Marcotte of Alexandria, Pat (Mike) Didier of Osakis, Kathy Oehrlein of Columbia Heights, Jerry (Eileen) Oehrlein of Ewing Township, New Jersey, Mike (Deeanne) Oehrlein of Sauk Centre, Sheila (Alex Witzel) Erickson of Stacy; many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren; and sisters, Frances Tepe of Indiana and Barbara Ryan of Buffalo, Minnesota.

Harriet was preceded in death by her husband, Alois L. Oehrlein on December 13, 1991; infant son, Jeffrey Scott Oehrlein; infant great-grandson, John Sorenson; parents, Theodore and Alvina Steele; sisters, Delores Cobb and Marlene Steel; brothers, Merle, Marvin, Theodore Jr., Allen, and Jackie Steele; and sons-in-law, Pete Marcotte, Melvin Lang, and Danny Botten.

Serving as casket bearers will be her grandsons, John Oehrlein, Allen Oehrlein, Tim Lang, Steve Lang, Jason Oehrlein, and Jeff Austreng. Serving as cross bearer will be Brenda Kunz-Schmeising and scripture bearer will be Melissa Oehrlein.