Sylvia Wessel, 95, of Spring Valley, formerly of Fairmont and rural Truman, died November 12 at Spring Valley Living. Committal service will be on Monday, November 17 at 1 p.m. at the cemetery of St. John’s Lutheran Church of South Branch, 41486 760th Ave., St. James, Minn., with worship and refreshments to follow.
Sylvia was born February 24, 1930, to her parents Gustave and Agnes (Fritze) Kuske in Meriden Township, Steele County, Minnesota. She attended elementary school in Wasioja and Dodge Center and graduated from Dodge Center High School in 1948.
After attending Concordia Teachers College in River Forest, Illinois, she taught in the parochial school system of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod in Minneapolis, Fresno, Calif., Howard Lake, Waconia, and Truman.
In Truman she met Edward Wessel and they were married in Rochester on June 14, 1959. They made their home on his parents’ farm north of Truman for several years before moving to South Branch Township, Watonwan County, where they raised three children, attended St. John’s Lutheran Church, and farmed until 1997. They lived in Asheville, N. C., from 1997 until 2005, when they moved to Fairmont. Edward died in 2018 and Sylvia moved to Spring Valley in 2021 where she was a resident of Spring Valley Living and a member of First English Lutheran Church.
Sylvia was preceded in death by her husband Edward, brothers Wilmer, Eugene and Donald Kuske; sisters Harriett Doepel, Dorothy Kohagen, and Luella Wrege; 12 brothers-in-law, seven sisters-in-law, and grandson Jason Wessel.
She is survived by son Lyn Wessel of rural Truman, son Loel (Kathy) Wessel of Spring Valley, and daughter LeAnn (Paul) Hilchen of Ankeny, Iowa; grandchildren Stephanie Hilchen of Ankeny, Benjamin (Jenny) Wessel of Ft. Wayne, Ind., Victoria Hilchen (fiancé Keagan Gilbert) of Ankeny, and Zachary (Haley) Wessel of Hartford, S. Dak.; great-grandson Christopher Wessel; great-granddaughter Lucy Wessel (soon to be born); sister Ethelyn Moeller of Duluth; sisters-in-law Bess Kuske of Willowbrook, Ill., Mary Kuske of Frankenmuth, Mich., Kathleen Wessel of St. Peter, Lucille Wessel of New Ulm, and many nieces and nephews.
Burial will take place at St John’s Lutheran Church South Branch, 41486 760th, St. James, Minn., with memorial services immediately following.
Hindt Funeral Home – Spring Valley, Minn., is assisting the family.
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