Elaine Sietsema

Elaine Sietsema, age 56, of Atwater, died Tuesday, January 1, 2019, at Methodist Hospital in Rochester following a battle with breast cancer.

Mass of Christian Burial will be 11 a.m. Monday, January 7, at the church of St. Mary in Willmar.  Interment will be at Union Cemetery in Atwater.  Visitation will be 4-6 p.m. Sunday, January 6, at Peterson Brothers Atwater Funeral Home in Atwater and will continue one hour prior to the Mass at the church on Monday.  In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to the Willmar Regional Cancer Center.

Elaine Margaret Sietsema was born January 21, 1962, in Willmar, Minnesota, the daughter of Dale and Margaret (Erickson) Anderson.  She grew up in Atwater and graduated from Atwater High School in 1980.  She later married Craig Sietsema May 19th 1982 and they made their home in rural Atwater.  Elaine worked for Baker Printing and Holm Brothers Plumbing and Heating and most recently for the  Kandiyohi County Housing and Redevelopment Authority , where she enjoyed helping people.  She also volunteered with Atwater Summer Recreation and at the Church of St. Patrick, where she helped with many church dinners and planning the 125th anniversary.

Elaine loved living on Diamond Lake and enjoyed fishing and pulling her boys and their friends waterskiing and tubing.  She also enjoyed 4-wheeling, snowmobiling, traveling, cooking, and flower gardening.  She especially loved to spend time with her two grandchildren.

She is survived by her fiancé, Mike Welle; her sons: Bryan (and Sara) Sietsema and David Sietsema; two grandchildren: Mila and Bret;  her mother: Margaret “Maggie: Anderson; a brother: Mike (and Jill) Anderson; and a nephew: Nolan Anderson, all of Atwater.

She was preceded in death by her father: Dale Anderson in 2014; and her grandparents.