Jeanette Holmquist

Jeanette Holmquist, 90, of Willmar, died Friday, June 21, at Bethesda Heritage Center Nursing Home in Willmar.
A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, June 28, at Bethel Lutheran Church in Willmar. A committal service will be held at 2 p.m. Friday at Our Redeemer's Lutheran Church in Benson. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at Bethel Lutheran Church. It is her wish that memorial gifts be given to Our Redeemer's Lutheran Church (Benson), Bethel Lutheran Church (Willmar), Rice Hospice or Bethesda Foundation. Arrangements are with Peterson Brothers Funeral Home in Willmar.
Jeanette Elizabeth (Lee) Holmquist was born in Carrington, ND on June 25, 1922, to Andrew and Emma (Miller) Lee. She grew up in Carrington with an older brother, Charles, where they especially enjoyed summertime at Red Willow Lake. Jeanette was baptized and confirmed at First Congregational Church in Carrington. She graduated from Carrington High School in 1940, and began her post secondary education in Music, Piano and Voice at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri. Jeanette transferred to the University of North Dakota in 1942 for pre-nursing education and later graduated from the University of Minnesota with a baccalaureate degree in Public Health Nursing in July, 1947. Jeanette met her future husband, Roy Holmquist, while at UND, and they were married on Feb. 22, 1944, before Roy was deployed to the European front of World War II as 2nd Lieutenant in the US Army. Jeanette served as a cadet nurse during the war years while she completed her education in Public Health Nursing.
After her husband returned as a wounded-in-combat officer, they resided in St. Paul so her husband could complete his law degree. They moved to Benson, MN in 1948 and resided there until retirement in 1989. Jeanette and Roy raised four children - Andrea Lee (Carruthers), Philip Roy, Mary Heather (Lundahl) and Charles William. She was a devoted mother and grandmother who especially enjoyed homemaking, music, gardening, bird watching and traveling. Jeanette loved history and the Holmquist family took annual trips throughout the United States to places of historical significance. All the children took piano lessons, learned to appreciate orchestra concerts, theatre and the "Nutcracker Suite" ballet. Jeanette's favorite pastime was reading, and she instilled a love of reading in all of her children. She had a great appreciation of nature's beauty and especially enjoyed their 50 summers living at their lake home on the south shore of Lake Minnewaska. Jeanette's homes were ideal for entertaining. Her family loved all of the wonderful meals that she cooked for family gatherings and holidays.
Jeanette had a nursing career as a Tuberculosis Screening Team nurse for many school districts throughout western Minnesota. She was a Red Cross volunteer. In 1965 Jeanette became the Public Health Nursing Director for Swift County Nursing Services at the Benson Courthouse and she completed her career in 1970.
Jeanette was a member of Our Redemmer's Lutheran Church in Benson where she sang in the Senior Choir, was active in ELCW and served on the Church Council and pastoral call committees. She was a charter member of the Monday Club in Benson and belonged to women's and couples' bridge clubs. She was also a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and could trace her family lineage to a generation before the Revolutionary War.
Jeanette and Roy enjoyed 14 years of retirement in Mesa, Arizona. They returned to Minnesota in 2006 and resided at Scofield Place in Benson and then moved to Parkview Court Assisted Living in Glenwood, MN. After her husband's death, Jeanette moved to Willmar in January 2009. She lived at Compassionate Cottage until January 2013 when she moved to Bethesda Heritage Center.
Jeanette is survived by three children, Andrea Carruthers of Willmar, MN, Philip (and Corrine) Holmquist of Omaha, NE, and Mary (and Dan) Lundahl of Victoria, MN; fourteen grandchildren, Scott Carruthers (and Lindsay Lampher), Leah (and Ahren) Habicht, Evan (and Amy) Carruthers, Brent (and Mellisa) Holmquist, Dana Holmquist, Dane (and Heather) Lundahl, Seth (and Jessica) Lundahl, Jay (and Britney) Lundahl, Michael Lundahl, Bryant Lundahl (and Kathryn Hupp ), Allison Lundahl, Meagan (and Michael) Flanagan, Max (and Stephanie) Holmquist, and Chad Holmquist; and ten great-grandchildren, Ian Carruthers, Tayva Carruthers, Deiken Carruthers, Verena Habicht, Jackson Habicht, Barrett Holmquist, Paxton Holmquist, Elsa Lundahl, Finn Lundahl, and Brady Flanagan; and other relatives and friends.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Roy Holmquist in 2008; her son, Charles Holmquist in October 2012; and her brother, Charles Lee.