FAITH & FAMILY■ C o t t o n w o o d C o u n t y C i t i z e n w e d n e S d A y, M A y 7 , 2 0 1 4 6

FRIESENF I N A N C I A L , L L C

Sound Solutions For Your Financial Future

FF

350 10th Street, Windom, MN507.832.8500

www.friesenfinancial.com

Friesen Financial (Church Page). 12/28/2013 9:28:22 AM

First Security Bank Storden

507-445-3417Fax: 507-445-3259

Storden, MN507-445-3417, Storden, MN • 612-329-8373, Renville, MN

507-752-7020, Lamberton, MN

he hush of Christmas touches the landscape, delighting us with it’s beauty.

e take a moment to wish our dear friends all things bright and beautiful.

WE WILL BE CLOSING AT 1:00 P.M.,FRIDAY, DECEMBER 24.

Transactions received after 11:00 noon,December 24 will be posted December 27.

Peaceon

Earth

TW

First Security Bank-Storden

MEMBER FDIC

First Secuity Bank Storden (church page12/28/2013 9:26:40 AM

507-831-1703 820 2nd Avenue • Windom, MN

Rod Dynes, MD • Mary Olson, MD

Avera Medical Group (Church Page).idd 14/3/2014 4:22:59 PM

STAPLES OIL CO.

For Town & Country Deliveries507-831-4450 • Windom, MN

Staples Oil (Church Page)2/28/2013 11:49:09 AM

Westbrook MutualInsurance Co.

“Serving this area since 1889”

507-445-3467Storden, MN

Westbrook Mutual Ins (Church Page2/28/2013 10:01:21 AM

Storden Seed & Chemical Service, Inc.

507-445-3217 days or 800-201-3217Storden, MN

Storden Seed & Chemical (Church Page)2/28/2013 9:44:16 AMHOLT

ELECTRICJim Holt

507-831-4776• Commercial • Farm •

• Residential •

Holt Electric (Church Page). 1 2/28/2013 11:49:59 AM

Schramel Law Office

Ronald Schramel Kristi Meyeraan

507-831-1301906 4th Ave., Windom

Schramel Law (Church Page) 1 2/28/2013 9:31:02 AM

JAMES J. JOHNSON507-831-1711 (Office) 507-831-5481 (Home)

240 Ninth St., P.O. Box 70Windom, MN 56101

American Family (Church Page) 12/28/2013 9:51:28 AM

Dennis J. Johnson507-831-2703

1012 5th Ave., Suite 1BWindom, MN 56101

E-mail: djohnson@wenck.com

Wenck Associates, Inc.

Wenck Assoc (Church Page) 1 2/28/2013 9:36:01 AM

United PrairieInsurance Agency

507-427-2422Mountain Lake • Windom

www.unitedprairieinsurance.com

“Where there’s a helpful smile in every aisle”

507-831-2786Hwy 60-71 at 10th St. • Windom

www.hy-vee.com

HyVee (Church Page) 6/10/2013 11:05:02 AM

Holt’s Cleaning Service, Inc.

Serving the area since 1974!

507-831-2128 or 800-246-2128Windom

Holts Cleaning (church page) 16/13/2013 3:56:21 PM

ADVERTISINGOPPORTUNITYThis space available!

Call 507-831-3455

church page citizen 2013 adjusted.indd 1 4/3/2014 4:24:38 PM

WINDOM EVANGELICAL FREE CHURCH507 831-3713 • 416 10th St., Windom • www.windomfreechurch.org

Sunday: Sunday School, 9 a.m.; worship service, 10:15 a.m.

E-mail: office@windomfreechurch.org

One of the more difficult realities we manage in life is the comment, “You’re not qualified!” Certainly, I cannot get a position at the hospital as a doctor if I don’t have the train-

ing and credentials to diagnose, treat or prescribe medicines to patients for their well being. Nor can I get a job working in the welding department at Toro, if I don’t have the expertise in handling a welding torch. In fact, I may never be qualified for these jobs if I don’t have the mental acumen, or the physical dexterity to perform well in these environ-ments.

We may question our value and sense of significance if we’ve been told so often, “You’re not qualified!” Part of the problem is that we live in a culture where our self-worth and significance are gauged by the things we do, rather than by who we are. But not being qualified for or not having the natural abilities to do certain jobs is not the end of it.

The Bible tells us we are created in “His own image” (Genesis 1:27). That is why we can think, reason and create. That is why we have the ability to act and choose independently of desires and passions. It’s all because we have been created in God’s image. This gives us dignity and value.

So why don’t we feel valued? Why do we struggle?I believe we’ve all experienced failures and shame in our lives

— the conviction of doing wrong things. But the Bible gives us great hope in telling us that Christ came into this world, “ . . . to give his life as a ransom for many.” He paid the price for our troubles and wrongdoings because we are worth it! We may not be qualified, but He is! The real question is not so much are we qualified, but do we believe Christ has qualified us through His death and resurrection? Have you received His gift? It is a gift that changes everything!

Am I qualified

■

PASTOR ROGER BERGPastor

Windom Evangelical Free Church

RSVP’S 25-YEAR VOLUNTEERS

EVA SCHMIDTStart date: Aug. 20, 1987Why did you join RSVP? I was a widow

and wanted some meaning in my life. I talked to Priscilla Jacobson at the Community Center and she suggested I help at Good Samaritan.

What have been some of your activities? I worked steadily at Good Sam and at what is now called Pine View Assisted Living across from the Historical Society. I did a lot of visiting at both places. At the nursing home I took residents from their rooms to the dining room for special celebrations. As they began to fail, I helped them in any way I could. At Pine View I played bingo with the residents and we often talked about topics of the day as a group. We went on outings, too. I also helped at the Sharing Center.

What is your favorite activity? Good Samaritan. I was there so much that I even have an official name tag. I was good at visiting and talking with others.

Why is it important to keep volunteering? It made me feel so good to help people who couldn’t help themselves.

WANDA TURNERStart Date: March 6, 1989Why did you join RSVP? When I retired from

teaching, I wanted to give back to the commu-nity. Then Priscilla Jacobson from RSVP called, looking for a volunteer at the Historical Society. Garnet Booze and I wrote the scripts for the first Tour through County History. I introduced the program when it began and, eventually, replaced Kay Campbell as the aristocratic lady. I also wrote a few short columns for the Citizen.

What have been some of your activities? Volunteering in the schools in kindergarten through fifth grade and in the Readers Theater at all grade levels; Meals on Wheels; the Sharing Center; and Bone Builders at the Community Center. Because of a fall a couple of years ago, I work only with Bone Builders now.

What is your favorite activity? Sharing Center. There are so many in such need. I recall a woman working two jobs just to support her and her baby. She was thankful for everything she got. It meant a lot to help her and give her encouragement.

Why is it important to keep volunteering? It gives purpose to your life. It is a reason to get up and start the day. Benefits are so overwhelming.

LULA LEVERENZStart Date: Dec. 28, 1988 Why did you join RSVP? I talked to Garnet

Booze about volunteering at the Historical Society. In the beginning I indexed old photos.

What have been some of your activities? Giving rides to medical appointments, Chamber mailings, helping with maps at the Conservation Service, doing computer tasks at the Environ-mental Office and going through old newspapers on microfilm to develop an obituary file. Now I devote my time to only the Historical Society. I like it all — from reading columns written by correspondents to learning about county history.

What is your favorite activity? Definitely preparing family histories. It means so much to families when they can trace their roots. They really are happy and grateful. That work is a blend of my love for researching and writing.

Why is it important to keep volunteering? I really enjoy it and it’s a good thing to do. It also keeps me interested in what is going on.

RSVP to honor 25-year volunteers at local Coffee■ the organization’s legal name change now allows it to enroll volunteers under age 55.

Three local volunteers who have served Cottonwood County RSVP (Retired & Se-nior Volunteer Program) for more than 25 years will be honored at Chamber Cof-fee, Friday, at 10 a.m., at the Business, Arts & Recreation Center Library in Windom.

The coffee is hosted and sponsored by A.C.E. of South-west Minnesota, which ad-ministers the county RSVP.

The trio who each have served more than 25 years in the local volunteer program are Wanda Turner and Eva Schmidt of Windom and Lula Leverenz of rural Bergen.

Read more about each of the individuals in the box below.

This is the second year that RSVP has recognized its long-serving members. Last year, the volunteer organization recognized two volunteers from Windom and another from Mt. Lake.

Currently A.C.E./RSVP has 234 volunteers serving 57 nonprofits, education, health care and governmental sites in Cottonwood County.

In 2013, volunteers served a total of 17,472 recorded hours

of time for a value of $174,200 of service to Cottonwood County. Although that is a lot of hours of service A.C.E./RSVP volunteers have pro-vided, numbers are actually down from previous years due to volunteers aging.

“We need to keep the num-ber of volunteers and hours up in order to preserve our funding,” said Kate Roberts, Cottonwood County coordina-tor for A.C.E. of Southwest Minnesota/RSVP. “We need to have younger people who are starting to retire join us to support the many organiza-tions which we serve.”

The volunteer organization has helped that cause through its recent legal name change. By becoming A.C.E. of South-west Minnesota, it can now enroll volunteers under the age of 55.

“This really changes the scope of volunteer possibili-ties for us,” Roberts said.

Volunteers are able to choose the amount of time and where they are interested in serving when it fits their schedule.

For more information on volunteer opportunities with A.C.E./RSVP, contact Roberts at 831-1803 or e-mail: ace.cottonwood@co.cottonwood.mn.us.

Red Cross Bloodmobile offers incentives at Windom stop■ Stops are set in westbrook on thursday; windom and Mt. Lake on Monday.

World Red Cross Day is a time to recognize worldwide efforts to advocate for the relief of human suffering, whether from disease, disas-ter, war or famine.

Each year, World Red Cross Day is celebrated on May 8, the birthday of Henry Du-nant, who officially founded the International Red Cross & Red Crescent Movement

nearly 100 years ago.In Cottonwood County,

residents have an opportu-nity to give at any of three locations. Those locations and dates are:

•  Thursday, noon to 6 p.m., Westbrook Community Cen-ter, 510 Fifth St.

•  Monday, 1:30-6 p.m., Win-dom Community Center, 1750 Cottonwood Lake Drive.

•  Monday, 2-7 p.m., Mt. Lake Community Center, 1027 Sec-ond Ave.

Each individual who do-nates blood at Monday’s Win-dom stop will receive cou-pons for a free pint of Dairy Queen ice cream, a Hardee’s sandwich, $1 off concessions at the State Theater and will be entered in a drawing for a $25 Hy-Vee gift card.

First-time donors also re-ceive a coupon for a large Casey’s pizza.

Individuals reaching a gallon mark in their giving will receive a coupon for a

six-inch Subway sandwich.The American Red Cross

encourages eligible indi-viduals to support these hu-manitarian efforts by making an appointment to donate lifesaving blood this May. The need is constant, and all blood types are needed, espe-cially O positive, O negative, B negative and A negative.

To make an appointment, call  1-800-733-2767,  or  go  on-line to: redcrossblood.org. Walk-ins are always welcome.

Three-time Grammy winner joins first Hall of Fame class

Maria Schneider has been on some of the most famous stages in the world, both per-forming and to be honored. Arguably none of those plat-forms is bigger than the stage of the Grammy Awards, where she has been lauded by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences three times during her illus-trious music career.

Her most recent Grammy came in February for Best Contemporary Classical Composition for her work on her last CD Winter Morn-ing Walks.

Despite world-renown rec-ognition in the music in-dustry, the 1979 graduate of Windom Area High School has never forgotten her roots. Time and again, she has spoken proudly of the school and community in which she grew up when conversation turns to her roots.

So, when it came time for the Windom Area High School Fine Arts Hall of Fame committee to decide on its first class of inductees, they didn’t forget her.

On Tuesday evening, dur-ing the annual WAHS Pops Concert, Schneider will re-turn to Windom to be in-ducted along with former Windom High School choir and band directors John Folin and the late Robert

Thilgen.“It’s just such an honor,”

Schneider says. “It’s the most wonderful thing. It makes me feel connected to my home and that my life didn’t move on and become something else. It’s all a continuum.

“There is no doubt that my life was built on my great education in the great com-munity of Windom. So, this is a chance for me to come back and say, ‘Thank you,’ for that.”

How much does she appre-ciate the school and commu-nity for shaping her future?

On her website, she has video of when the local fire department led her and her orchestra’s bus around the Square when they made their first appearance together in Windom more than a decade ago. Schneider pointed out all the highlights with a bit of punnish humor.

The video has been seen by more than a few people.

“I received a call from David Bowie and we’re go-ing to get together and talk about music and possibly do a little something together,” Schneider says. “But what struck me was that we were trying to find a time to get together and I said, ‘I’m going to Windom to get this Hall of Fame award and he said, ‘Oh, yes, Windom. I watched you on the bus.’

“I was thinking, how lucky am I that I come from a com-munity that embraces their own.”

Schneider says her home-town and school gave her the foundation for what she has accomplished today. In-deed, from piano lessons with “Mrs. Butler” to playing in the school band under Robert Perrier and the school or-chestra under Arthur Vogel to singing for director Mike Foley, Schneider says all of it

brings back fond memories.

Early music memoriesMaria’s earliest recol-

lections of music was as a little girl at home where her mother, Dorie, played a lot of music and also played piano. However, it wasn’t until Eve-lyn Butler moved to town that Maria began making music.

Butler attended a dinner party at the Schneiders with her daughter, Lois and Dr. C.O. Castledine. Maria was

just 4 years old at the time, but remembers hearing “Mrs. Butler” play for the first time.

“I told Mom I wanted to be like Mrs. Butler,” Maria recalls. “That really thrilled me. She was amazing.

“Then I would watch my sister, Heidi, in the concert band playing with Mr. Vogel (orchestra) and Mr. Perrier

As her star rose and she gained

international fame, Maria Schneider has

not forgotten her roots.

By DAVE FjELDdavef@windomnews.com

■

SuBMitted PHotoMARIA SCHNEIDER, a 1979 graduate of Windom Area High School, is a three-time Grammy Award winner and part of the first class of inductees into Windom Area High School’s newly-established Fine Arts Hall of Fame.

S e e SCHNEIDER • PA g e 7

WAH, ECFE to offer free children’s nutrition seminar at BARC Thursday

If you’ve ever wondered if you’re feeding your infant or toddler too much or too little, then a free Children’s Nutri-tion seminar will answer that question and many more.

Windom Area Hospital and Early Childhood Fam-ily Education in Windom are sponsoring this free seminar Thursday,  from  5:30  to  6:30 p.m., in Room 10 at BARC.

Free child care will be pro-vided by ECFE as well as free snacks. To reserve child care for your son or daughter, call Jean at 831-6940.

The Children’s Nutrition seminar is designed to answer nutrition questions regarding children ages newborn to 2 years old.

Attendees will learn facts from guest speaker Ann Busk-er, a registered dietician, about introducing solids and table food to their child, help-ing their child love vegetables, the basics and benefits of breastfeeding, and what foods have food allergy risks.

For more information or to reserve child care, call Jean at 831-6940.

To view a complete listing of the area church calendar go towww.windomnews.comand click on “Area Churches”

4x2 churches online.indd 1 5/1/2008 8:29:59 AM

■ C o t t o n w o o d C o u n t y C i t i z e n w e d n e S d A y, M A y 7 , 2 0 1 4 7

■ ObituariesDelmar Menke

Delmar Menke, 89, of Wood-bury, the father of Cindi Lohse of Windom, died May 1, 2014.

Funeral services will be held Thursday at 1 p.m., at Woodbury Lutheran Church, 7380 Afton Road, in Woodbury.

Interment will be held at Fort Snelling National Cem-etery in St. Paul.

Visitation will be held to-day (Wednesday) from 4 to 7:30 p.m., at Wulff Woodbury Funeral Home, 2195 Woodlane Drive in Woodbury, and con-tinue Thursday at the church for one hour prior to services.

Delmar Ernest Menke was an entrepeneur and handy-man who enjoyed golfing and dancing. He had a zest for life and enjoyed people.

His greatest love was his family.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Louise; and three siblings.

Survivors include his daughters: Pat (Jeff), Cindi (Keith) Lohse of Windom and Jane (Chuck); six grand-children; nine great-grand-children; and a sister, Bonnie Crosser.

Harland ChristofferMarshall: Har-

land Christoffer, age 80, of Marshall, passed away at the Minneota Manor on Friday, May 2, 2014.

Funeral services were 11 a.m., Tues-day, May 6, at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Marshall.

Visitation was 4 to 7 p.m. with a 6 p.m. prayer service Monday at the Hamilton Funeral Home. Visitation continued at the church on Tuesday, one hour prior to the service.

Condolences may be sent to www.hamiltonfh.com.

Harland Lester Christ-offer was born on Oct. 10, 1933, in Sherburn to Louis and Nellie (Grein) Christ-offer. He was baptized at St. Paul Church of Rost and confirmed at St. Paul Evan-gelical Lutheran Church in Lakefield.

He graduated from Win-dom High School in 1951.

On Jan. 20, 1952, Harland was united in marriage to Joanne Marie Fladgard. To this union five children were born, namely: Mitch-ell, Kerry, Kevin, Bryan and Todd.

Harland’s career in-cluded: Elevator manager, agricultural sales and in-surance representative for AAL.

The love of his life was doing things with and for

his wife and fam-ily, including his daughter-in-laws and grandchildren.

He enjoyed out-door activities of hunting and fish-ing. He also enjoyed sporting activities of basketball and

softball. He was active in Ducks Unlimited, Pheas-ants Forever and Marshall Horseshoe Club.

He is survived by his wife, Joanne of Marshall; five children: Mitchell (Peggy) Christoffer of Tro-phy, Texas; Kerry (Lyn) Christoffer of Montevideo; Kevin (Lori) Christoffer of Lakeville; Bryan (Becky) Christoffer of Spencer, Iowa; and Todd (Sue) Christoffer of Erwin, S.D.; 15 grandchildren; 18 great grandchildren; brother, Doug Christoffer of Boise, Idaho; also many other relatives and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents; sister, Lois Post/Sueflow and Delores Eidhammer; and brothers, Gerald Christoffer and Clifford Christoffer (In Infancy).

Harland was a faithful member of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church where he was an elder, and active member of the choir and praise team.

Blessed be the memory of Harland L. Christoffer.

Glenn MacArthurGlenn MacArthur, 68, of

Canby, formerly of Windom, died May 2, 2014, at his home.

A memorial service will be held today (Wednesday) at 10:30 a.m., at Bethel Lutheran Church in Porter with Rev. El-len Munter officiating.

Inurnment will be at Werge-land Cemetery in rural Porter with military honors provid-ed by Canby/Porter Military Honor Guard.

Visitation will be held today at the church for one hour prior to services.

Glenn MacArthur was born Feb. 23, 1946, to Roland and Agnes (Schoephoerster) Mac-Arthur in Canby. He lived in Hammer Township until 1949, starting his education in District 48 country school in 1952. He moved to Norman Township and transferred to Canby High School in 1955, graduating from Canby High school in 1964.

During high school, Glenn worked for Jerome “Boob” Christensen and Jule Jacob-son until serving in the U.S. Army from 1965 to 1967. After returning to Canby, he again worked for Jerome and Mary Christensen until 1972.

In 1971, Glenn married Don-na Evjen at Bethel Lutheran Church in Porter. Their mar-riage was blessed with three children: Kathy, Donn and Thomas.

The family moved to Win-dom where Glenn worked for Gohr Brothers for three years and then was employed by Spike Johnson from 1975 to 1984, managing feed lot farm-ing operations.

From 1985 to 1987, Glenn worked for Wilder feed lot, then took over management of the JOT Feedlot in Storden.

In 1988, the family moved back to Canby, where he worked with Roger Bliss un-til an injury forced him to change careers and become a carpenter. He found a love for woodworking, making furni-ture for family and helping remodel homes. He also took a part-time job working at Canby Builders.

Glenn enjoyed road-trip-ping and looking at crops and livestock. He especially enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren and attend-ing their programs.

He was preceded in death by sister, Doris, and brother-in-law, Jule Jacobson.

Survivors include his wife of 43 years, Donna MacAr-thur; his daughter, Kathy (Todd) Antony of Canby; sons, Donn (Amy) MacArthur of Hartford, S.D., and Thomas (Erika) MacArthur of Canby; seven grandchildren; a sister, Mildred (Donald) Schweer of Milbank, S.D.; a brother, Chuck (Sharon) MacArthur of Zumbrota; and childhood friend, Paul Livingston of Canby.

Alan CrowellAlan Crowell, 47, of Jeffers

died May 2, 2014, at Windom Area Hospital.

Services will be held Thurs-day at 10:30 a.m., at First United Meth-odist Church i n Wi n d o m with Pastor Art Miller and Pastor Gerrit Molenaar officiating.

Special music will be pro-vided by Carol Vought, or-ganist; and Laura Williams vocalist.

Casket bearers will be Dean Schroeder, Todd Deutchman, Joel Deutchman, Steven Cog-dill, Colton Cogdill and Cody Hansen.

Burial will follow at Memo-ry Gardens Cemetery in rural Windom.

Visitation will be held today (Wednesday) from 5 to 8 p.m., at LaCanne Family Funeral Home in Windom and con-tinue Thursday at the church for one hour prior to services.

LaCanne Family Funeral Service of Windom is han-dling the funeral arrange-ments.

Alan Paul Crowell was born Oct. 20, 1966, to Paul and Donna (Nickel) Crowell in Windom. He was baptized and later confirmed at Red Rock United Methodist Church in rural Jeffers.

He received his education from Storden-Jeffers Public Schools, graduating in 1985.

After high schoool, Alan lived in Windom and Jeffers. He worked several auto body jobs, various trucking jobs and worked for AGCO in Jack-son. Most recently, he was employed as a painting and shipping foreman with Mt. Power Hydraulics in Mt. Lake.

He enjoyed outdoor activi-ties, including hunting, four-wheeling, fishing, kayaking and frisbee golf.

He was preceded in death by his grandparents and an uncle, Dale Nickel.

Survivors include his par-ents, Paul and Donna Crowell of Jeffers; and four sisters: Debra (Dean) Schroeder and Darla (Todd) Deutchman, all of Windom; Denise Hansen of Worthington; and Deanne (Steve) Cogdill of New Under-wood, S.D.

Cletus JackelsCletus Jackels, 86, of Sioux

Falls, formerly of Windom, died May 5, 2014, at Avera M c K e n n a n Hospital in Sioux Falls.

Funeral ser-vices will be held Friday at 11 a.m., at George Boom Funeral Home in Sioux Falls.

Visitation will be held Thursday from 5 to 7 p.m., at the funeral home.

George Boom Funeral Home of Sioux Falls is han-dling the funeral arrange-ments.

Cletus Alverne Jackels was born Jan. 27, 1928, to Chester and Alice (Kuehl) Jackels in Westbrook Township. He grew up on the family farm and graduated from Storden High School in 1946. After gradua-tion, he helped construct and maintain the golf course in Windom.

Cletus entered the U.S. Army and served stateside as a combat engineer.

In 1952, Cletus married Mary Lou Torres at Camp Mc-Coy, Wis. Following his hon-orable discharge, the couple lived in Windom where Cletus worked as a mechanic.

They returned to the family farm for a short time before moving to Blue Earth, where they owned and operated a service station and restau-rant for several years. Cletus also sold water conditioning equipment and supplies in Blue Earth.

They later moved to Dun-nell where Cletus began his career as a plumber.

In 1986, they moved to Sioux Falls where Cletus worked as a handyman until his death.

He was preceded in death by a daughter, Susan Jackels.

Survivors include his wife of 62 years, Mary Lou Jackels of Sioux Falls; four children: Julie (Guy) Faber of Brandon, S.D.; Jeffery (Linda) Jackels and David (Patty) Jackels, all of Sioux Falls; and Aimee (Michael) Kizziar of Folsom, Calif.; 10 grandchildren; sev-en great-grandchildren; and three siblings: Duane (Carol) Jackels of Winona, LaVerne (Marlene) Jackels of Storden and LeAnn (Art) Steere of Windom.

■ Death nOticeLois Jensen

Lois V. Jensen, 89, of Jack-son died May 5, 2014, at San-ford Hospital in Worthington.

A memorial service will be held Thursday at 1 p.m., at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Jackson with Pas-tor Lance Isaacson officiating.

Burial will be at a later date at Sunset Memorial Cemetery in Jackson.

Visitation will be held Thursday at the church for one hour prior to the service.

Osterberg Funeral Home of Jackson is handling the funeral arrangements.

Linda DurayLinda Duray, age

72, formerly of Win-dom, passed away peacefully in her sleep on May 5, the mor ning of her daughter Jeannie’s birthday.

Linda was well known for her love of meeting new people and, more importantly, hugs. She was a caring and lov-ing individual.

Linda is preceeded in death by her parents, Fritz and Lydia Koenkamp; daughter, Jeannine; broth-er, Bernard; and sister, Bernice Wellner.

She is survived by her loving hus-band, Bruce of 46 years ; and son, Danny; along with many nieces and nephews.

Funeral service is Saturday, May 10, at 11 a.m., at Grace

Evangelical Free Church, 755 73rd Ave. NE.

Visitation is Friday, May 9, from 5-9 p.m., at Miller Funeral Home, 6210 Hwy 65 NE, and one hour prior to service at the church.

Interment is at Morning-side Memorial Gardens.

(concert band) and it seemed so unachieveable to be in that. I wanted to be in an ensemble like that because it seemed so exciting. I really looked up to that and knew I wanted to be in band, too, and play some instrument.”

Needless to say, she eventu-ally did.

On to high schoolNot surprisingly, Schneider

was a busy — and musically gifted — student at WAHS from 1976 to 1979. She was in choir, band and pep band for four years, sang in pop group, participated in speech club and junior class play, was a flag girl and part of the color guard.

“I loved band because it was playing in that ensemble with all those instruments and be-ing surrounded by a sense of orchestration. The communal feeling of making music with all the different instrumental colors was just thrilling,” Schneider says, looking back.

“I loved choir and I loved doing things vocally. Mr. Foley would bring in really great guests to teach. He brought in Duane Jorgenson, who was absolutely incredible. I also accompanied the choir on piano, so I got to use my piano skills as well.”

She also quickly recalls the joy she had for marching band, everything from for-mations to parades and the unique way in which the band turned corners.

But what might have been a foreshadowing of things to come, Maria was a member of the school’s small stringed orchestra for four years, a group that fell victim to bud-get cuts just a few years after she graduated.

“Orchestra started with Mr. Vogel. He sometimes needed a pianist and asked me if I would join. He basically said, ‘Here’s a violin, start playing,’ ” Maria remem-bers. “There were only a few pieces that needed piano. So, I learned to play violin by be-ing thrown into the orchestra.

“He also started a commu-nity adult orchestra. We called it ‘Orchie.’ Mom was in that and I joined and played cello for a little while. We would rehearse in the old band room at the middle school (now BARC). There were so many musical opportunities in Win-dom. We were not a high level orchestra, but, so what. It was really fun.”

That experience, she main-tains, was important in her development as a composer.

“It was hugely helpful,” she says. “I play violin a little bit and it makes it so much easier to write for it.”

All her directors during her school days, including Jim Tucci, whom she had as a middle school vocal instruc-tor, were key in shaping her love for music.

“All of them shaped a cor-ner. That was the joy and high-light of my schooling,” Maria says. “It shaped my life.”

Her talent and character was already shining in high school. She was a citizenship award winner and named outstanding band member and overall musician her senior year.

On the clarinet, there was none better. She received received superior ratings for her clarinet solo and was part of instrumental and orches-tral ensembles that earned the same.

After high school, she grad-uated from the University of Minnesota with a music theory and composition de-gree. She studied at the Uni-versity of Miami and received her master’s degree from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y.

Making music a careerThen it was on to New York

City where she studied compo-sition under such jazz music legends as Bob Brookmeyer, Woody Herman and Gil Ev-ans. She scrapped and clawed her way up the music ladder and eventually formed the Maria Schneider Orchestra.

She began making albums and almost immediately Grammy nominations began coming her way. Her first two albums received nominations, but no awards.

Then, in 2002, Schneider and her orchestra came to Windom to perform for the Business, Arts & Recreation Center’s grand re-opening. She performed on the very stage on which she performed in her prep days in Windom.

Schneider said at the time that it was “the ultimate thing. It’s like coming full circle. You work on your mu-sic, you go out in the world, you see things and then all of a sudden you get to come back to the place where you started. And you get to see all the people who brought you up and then show them what they helped you do.

“That’s just incredibly emo-tional.”

The expe-r i e n c e w a s a s m u c h a h o m e c o m -ing for Maria as it was an r e v e l a t i o n for her band m e m b e r s . Greg Gisbert, one of the or-chestra’s four trumpeters, was excited t o s e e f o r himself what his conductor had been tell-ing him and o t h e r b a n d m e m b e r s about for sev-eral years.

“I’ve always wanted to see where Maria S c h n e i d e r c a m e f r o m because she is just a fas-cinating per-son, spiritually, musically, creatively,” Gisbert said dur-ing the band’s performance in Windom in 2002. “She’s always told stories about Windom and what it was like to grow up in a place like this.”

Grammy resumeBut it would be three more

years after her Windom per-formance before Schneider earned her first Grammy Award. She received the Grammy for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album for Concert in the Garden.

That same year, she also won four first-place awards in the Jazz Journalist Associa-tion Jazz Awards. It was the first time in the association’s history that a single artist had won four categories in one year.

The same thing happened again in 2008 after she won her second Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Com-position for “Cerulean Skies.” The selection was part of her sixth CD, Sky Blue.

Her third Grammy came earlier this year for Best Con-temporary Classical Composi-tion for her most recent CD, Winter Morning Walks. While her first two Grammys were in the jazz category, her 2014 Grammy was a reflection of her emerging diverse talent. It came in the classical category.

Becoming a teacherSchneider’s talent and abili-

ties have been recognized the world over.

Not only has she performed and conducted throughout the United States, but she has ventured to Europe multiple times, not only as a guest con-ductor, but also with her band.

She has been a guest teach-er at universities and colleges and, in fact,was a guest teach-er in Boston when she took a few minutes to talk about her induction into her alma ma-ter’s new Hall of Fame.

“I guest teach often, give lectures and work with com-position students; sometimes I’ll lead their big bands and they’ll play my music — the same way Mr. Foley and Mr. Perrier would bring a clini-cian every year to work with our band and choir in Win-dom,” Schneider says. “They brought in really hot-shot people. It was great. That in-fluenced me a lot.

“That’s why I know I have influence when I come to

these places b e c a u s e I k n o w h o w those people s h a p e d m y life.”

S h e a l s o is a ground-b r e a k e r i n the world of music. When she won her first Grammy for Concert in the Garden , S c h n e i d e r never sold a single CD in a store. Instead, s h e s i g n e d with the In-ternet-based c o m p a n y ArtistShare, which allowed her to start making mon-ey on the CD, downloadable MP3 versions, sheet music

and other avenues before ever stepping into the recording studio.

Rather than selling her CDs through conventional means, everything was available only online.

Ironically, her affiliation with ArtistShare and selling her work exclusively online, was largely why she testi-fied on Capitol Hill in March on behalf of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. She testified before Congress concerning the “notice and takedown” provision of the Digital Mil-lenium Copyright Act. She knows firsthand the issues involved with unauthorized music sharing on websites.

Consequently, she was called upon by Neil Portnow, president and CEO of the NARAS, to speak for the in-dustry.

Schneider attributes her achievements to the firm foundation she received dur-ing the first 18 years of her life, much of that at Windom Area High School.

“So much of my life, not only my musical life, but my social life revolved around school,” Schneider concludes. “So many times when I get together with old friends we will talk about memories from band.

“For my friends in band and orchestra, it was such a bonding thing to make music. I loved everything about high school. ”

And now, the newly-estab-lished Fine Arts Hall of Fame is ensuring a link to one of the great musicians of this time, a musician who has not forgotten her roots.

SCHNEIDER/ From choir to orchestra, life was filled with music F r o M pA g e 6

Citizen FiLe pHotoWINDOM’S FAVORITE DAUGHTER Maria Schneider has given concerts in the BARC Auditorium with her orchestra twice in the past dozen years. She was directing her band in this 2006 concert at BARC.

i loved band because

it was playing in that

ensemble with all

those instruments and

being surrounded by

a sense of

orchestration. the

communal feeling of

making music with all

the different

instrumental colors

was just thrilling.

maria schneiderWAHS Fine Arts Hall of Fame inductee