Mildred Knutson

Mildred A. "Millie" Knutson, age 82, of Willmar, died Thursday morning, November 26, at the St. Cloud Hospital.

Funeral services will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Monday, November 30, at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Willmar. Interment will be at St. John's Lutheran Cemetery in Raymond. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the church.

Mildred A. "Millie" Knutson was born on November 8, 1933, in Raymond, Minnesota, the daughter of Herbert and Meta (Griener) Peterson. She grew up in the Raymond community and graduated from Raymond High School in 1951. On July 5, 1953, Millie was married to Charles Schanbachler. They made their home in Willmar and later divorced. She worked for a while at the Blue Chip Café and National-T Grocery Store in downtown Willmar before receiving business training in Granite Falls. On December 18, 1968, Millie was united in marriage to Simon R. Knutson and they made their home in Willmar. Millie was employed for over 29 years at the Kandiyohi County Human Services as a financial worker, retiring in about 1997. She was a member of Redeemer Lutheran Church. Her hobbies included crocheting, knitting, embroidery and baking. Millie will be best remembered for being generous, kind and compassionate to others.

She is survived by her husband, Simon of Willmar; four children, Brenda Schanbachler of Willmar, Bradley (and Candace) Schanbachler of Clearwater, FL., Barry Schanbachler of Willmar and Julie Knutson of Grand Forks, ND. (and significant other, Jim Schiltz); five grandchildren; seven great grandchildren, and one sister-in-law, Shirley Freese of Willmar, besides other relatives and friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents and one brother, Donald Peterson.

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