Mildred Weinkauf

Mildred Irene Weinkauf was born on December 28, 1930, to Jens and Frederikke (Hansen) Nielsen on a farm near Tyler, Minnesota. At the age of one she moved with her parents to a farm near Ruthton, Minnesota, and later to a farm near Holland, Minnesota. She attended grade school in Ruthton and in Holland, and graduated from Pipestone High School in 1949. She worked as a private secretary for Clayton Jorgenson in the Jorgenson Life Insurance Agency in Pipestone for two years before marriage.
On December 17, 1950, she was united in marriage to Ernest John Weinkauf at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Yankton, South Dakota. Following their marriage they moved to the Weinkauf family farm in Grange Township, near Holland, where Ernie continued to farm.
In 1960 and 1964 she was a U.S. census taker in Pipestone County and in 1965 she began working for the Minnesota Agricultural Statistics Service where she worked for 28 years. All but two years were spent as a supervisory enumerator, and she had a staff of nine people working in 15 SW Minnesota counties. During this period she also became a certified assessor, a job she held for 30 years. She worked in Holland and in three townships.
She was baptized on January 18, 1931, at Danebod Lutheran Church in Tyler and was confirmed on March 25, 1945 at St. James Lutheran Church in Holland where she was an active member most of her life. She taught Sunday School for more than 25 years, confirmation instruction for three years, and vacation Bible school. She sang in the choir, played in the chime choir, and served on many committees. She had a special interest in the LWML, serving in many offices in her local group and also on the zone level, where she was the zone president, secretary, publicity chairperson, and delegate.
She was a charter member of the Consumer’s Advisory Council to the SW Minnesota Coop Electric Company in the late 1980s and served as its chairperson for several years. Millie’s special loves were her church, family, friends, and traveling. Their travels took them to 49 states, Guam, Puerto Rico, Denmark, Germany, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, and Australia. She also loved puzzles of all kinds and enjoyed reading.
Millie is lovingly remembered by her two sons, Pastor Randy (Nancy) Weinkauf of Lawrence, Kansas, and Dale (Dianne) Weinkauf of Pipestone; eight grandchildren, Tracy (Michael) Heffernan, Jodie (Heath) Smith, Michael (Kate) Weinkauf, Erik (Jeanine) Weinkauf, Joshua (Kaari) Weinkauf, Robin (Aaron) Weinkauf – Bultmann, Justin (Erin) Weinkauf, and Noah Weinkauf; 11 great-grandchildren, Mica Heffernan, Jack Heffernan, Taylor (Justin) Brockway, Justice Mendoza, Levi Mendoza, Gretchen Weinkauf, Max Bultmann, Samson Weinkauf, Jakob Weinkauf, Natalie Weinkauf, and Isabella Weinkauf; two great-great-grandchildren, Arlys Heffernan and Rowen Brockway; two sisters, Alma Johnson of Pipestone, and Helen (Chuck) Maloney of Montgomery, Texas; and one brother, Roger (Ardis) Nielsen of Springfield, Minnesota. She was preceded in death by her husband, Ernest; her daughter, Kathy; her parents; and two siblings, Earl Nielsen and Marie Enfield.