Lorene Burns

Lorene R. Burns, age 90, of Willmar, died Sunday evening, June 28th, at the Bethesda Pleasant View Nursing Home in Willmar.

Services will be held 10:30 A.M., Thursday, July 2nd, at the First Presbyterian Church in Willmar with Rev. Dr. Candace Adams officiating. The interment will be in the Benson City Cemetery. Friends may call from 5-7 P.M., Wednesday at the Peterson Brothers Funeral Home and at the church one hour prior to the services.

Lorene Rose Burns was born on March 10, 1919, in Waubay, South Dakota, the daughter of Mabel (Peterson) and Maurice Evans. She grew up on a farm south of Benson, attended rural school and graduated from Benson High School in 1937. She worked at the Benson Bakery for a time. On August 13, 1939 she was married to John W. Tatge and they made their home in Benson for a time. They moved to the family farm south of Benson and farmed until 1967. Lorene worked at several places in Benson, the Randgaard's Cafe, the Meadow Lane Nursing Home and Sandy's Cafe. She was active members of the Pilgrim Congregational Church where she taught Sunday School and was active in the Ladies Aid. They moved to Willmar and purchased the Ann's Cafe in 1968 and ran that until 1972. Lorene went to work for the Bethesda Homes as a nursing assistant and was there for almost 16 years. On April 25, 1974 she was married to Harold Burns in Willmar. In 1988 Lorene opened a day care center in her home that she ran until she retired. She was a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Willmar since 1968 and was active in the Ladies Aid. She also had been a member of the Homemakers Club in Benson and was a 4-H Leader. Lorene took pride in her family and cherished any time she could spend with them and the grandchildren. She enjoyed playing games and cards with family and friends, doing needle work, gardening, canning, cooking, raising flowers, bowling and keeping track of her Vikings and Twins. She stayed active since moving to the Bethesda Homes in 2000, enjoying all the activities that the home provided or just visiting with others that lived there.

She is survived by three sons; Jack Tatge of Willmar, David (and special friend Evelyn Sanchez) Tatge of New York City and Roger (and Carol) Tatge of Willmar and three daughters: Marjorie (and Dean) Anderson of Spicer, Sharon (and Gary) Mages of Willmar and Dorothy (and Jeff) Gaffaney of Glenwood. Also surviving are 14 grandchildren, 22 great grandchildren and one step great great grandchild, besides other relatives and friends. Lorene was preceded in death by her parents, husband (Harold in 1998), two brothers (Merlyn and Lloyd Evans) and three sisters (Mae Kelly, Mary Lou Gilbertson and Olive O'Malley).