Lois Stueven

LOIS LILLIAN STUEVEN was born to Finis Cleo and Florence Ica (Heidenreich) Ward on December 26, 1922 in Spokane, Washington. Before she was one year old, she moved with her parents and they lived on farms near Iroquois, Carpenter, and Osceola, South Dakota. When she was in the ninth grade, they moved to Jasper, Minnesota. One year later, they moved to a farm east of Pipestone where Lois attended high school. After her graduation from Pipestone High School in 1941, she attended Mankato State College in Mankato, Minnesota for two years. Upon completion of her education, she taught in rural schools in Pipestone County. On December 30, 1946, she was united in marriage to Ervin Stueven at the parsonage of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Pipestone. Following their marriage, they lived in Pipestone, and Lois continued to teach for six years. In 1952, they moved to a house in Sweet Township of Pipestone County; and in 1960, they moved to a farm in Troy Township where they lived for over 35 years. Then, in 1995, they moved to their present home in Sweet Township. In November of 2015, she moved into Falls Landing in Pipestone where she resided until she entered into the Pipestone County Hospice House. She passed away peacefully on Thursday, March 3, 2016 at the age of 93 years, two months, and seven days.

Lois was a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Pipestone. She was baptized at the Methodist Church in Osceola, South Dakota on October 21, 1923, and she was confirmed at St. Paul Lutheran Church on June 20, 1948. She was a member of the St. Paul Lutheran WGA, and she was chairman of the St. Paul Clothes Closet Committee. She was also a member of the Ihlen Senior Citizens, and she was the first president of the Good Samaritan Auxiliary in Pipestone. She enjoyed playing cards and was a member of several card clubs. She also enjoyed fishing, gardening, and sewing. She made many puppets and marionettes, and she liked to put on puppet shows. One of her favorite pastimes was watching Twins baseball and also watching her grandchildren play softball and baseball. After retiring, she and her husband spent their winters in Texas and Arizona. In the late 1970’s, Ervin and Lois made two trips to Germany to visit Ervin's family. Above all, she loved to spend time with her family.

She is lovingly remembered by four children, Dallas (Becky) Stueven of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Desmond (Rita) Stueven of Verdi, Minnesota, Desda (Keith) Nettik of Pipestone, Minnesota, and Doretta (Douglas) Heidebrink of LeMars, Iowa; ten grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and one brother, Lyle Ward of Estherville, Iowa. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Ervin; her son, Dennis Stueven; and two brothers, Lloyd and Leslie Ward.