Father Bob Schwartz Funeral

Friday, February 23, 2024 | 10:00 AM

Click here to view a livestream of the Funeral.
Click here to view a livestream of the Vigil Liturgy of the Hours.

Father Bob Schwartz, retired priest of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, was returned to the Lord on February 18, 2024, the 57th anniversary of his ordination. He is survived by his siblings, Bill (Jeannie), Howard (Margaret), Ron (Dorothy) and Carol, and many nieces and nephews. Preceded in death by his parents Aaron and Margaret, his brother Lenny, and his beloved dogs Shadrach, Nala and Amos.

Memorial Mass for Father Bob in Ghana - Click Here

Father Bob was ordained February 18, 1967, and his life of ministry was extensive. Over 23 years, he served as pastor of both St. John Neumann in Eagan and Our Lady of Grace in Edina. He studied in Rome at Gregorian University, authored the awarding winning book, Servant Leaders of the People of God, and he received a Doctorate in Sacred Theology. He also served on the Archdiocesan Chancery Staff for nine years, was the President of the National Organization for Continuing Education for Roman Catholic Clergy (NORERCC) for two years, served as a Police Chaplain, and taught at the Saint Paul Seminary. In retirement, Father Bob generously served many parishes, his retirement community, Carondelet Village, and gave of his time to Catholic Charities. He was instrumental in establishing Our Lady of Grace Senior High School in Ghana. His passion was serving the poor and developing opportunities for families to access Catholic Education.

Many thanks to Carondelet Village, Symphony Care, Pro Ecclesia Sancta Sisters,  his priest support group, friends, family and drivers and all those who cared for Father Bob after his spinal cord injury that resulted in his paraplegia. Father Bob’s circle of care allowed him to continue to live a full and meaningful life in service to others.

In lieu of flowers, memorials preferred to Our Lady of Grace Memorial Fund, or to the Ghana Ministry - RISE & SHINE Fund.

Trish Blessing Funeral

Monday, February 5, 2024 | 10:30 AM

Patricia Mae (Fadell) Blessing was born on November 22, 1931. Trish (92) passed away peacefully at home in Edina, MN surrounded by loved ones on January 28, 2024. Trish was preceded in death by the love of her life, Thomas Blessing; her parents, Mike and Susie Fadell; siblings, Michael, Richard and Mary Lou Hines; son, Michael; daughter, Mary Bangs; and sons-in-law, Bill Wissman and Mike Bangs. Trish will be deeply missed by her sisters, Kathleen Benson and Linda Stubbs; brother-in-law, Tom Hines; sister-in-law, Sandra (Sevard) Wagenius; children, Thomas (Susan), Suzanne Wissman, Stephen (Gretchen), Terrence (Isabel), Katherine (Andreas), Linda (Casey) Strachan, and Ann (Rob) Andersen; 28 grandchildren and 30 great-grand-children.

Trish lived a life dedicated to her faith, family and many friends. Her life's work was the sacred vocation of motherhood and marriage. A lifetime resident of the Twin Cities, she was married to her high school sweetheart, Tom, for 70 years. Together they raised 9 children in South Minneapolis and Edina. Trish, a devout Catholic her entire life, was active in the League of Catholic Women along with many other church activities throughout the years, regularly received the sacraments, and prayed the Rosary daily. In addition, Trish was a lifelong Twins fan (hated the Yankees), an outstanding bridge player (or any card game!) and loved her standing poker game with family for 40 years. She never missed a birthday or event of her grandchildren or friends and attended every activity when possible! Trish lived a full and diverse life, active in politics, MN League of Women Voters, social work, an avid reader and loved to travel.

Trish's life will be celebrated on Monday, February 5 at Our Lady Of Grace Church, 5071 Eden Avenue, Edina, MN. All are welcome to join the family in praying the Rosary for Trish at 9:15 AM, followed by a Visitation at 9:30 AM. The Mass of Christian Burial will begin at 10:30 AM, followed by luncheon at the Church. Interment will occur after the luncheon at Dawn Valley Cemetery, 9940 Bush Lake Road, Bloomington, MN.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to Risen Christ Catholic School, Minneapolis.

Bennett Kotok Funeral

Saturday, January 27, 2024 | 11:30 AM

It is with deep sadness we share the brightest of light, Bennett Kotok, passed away from natural causes on January 21, 2024, at just 19 years old. He is survived by his loving family, parents Larry and Susan, brothers Jack, Simon, dog George and Maddie Sura, his girlfriend of several years.

Bennett is survived by a loving extended family including grandmothers, Jane Gillen and Retta Kotok and amazing aunts and uncles that he adored including Kathy and Corey Melville, Steve and Kristal Gillen, Dave and Tamra Gillen, Jay and Marie Lackmann, Lori and Tom Anderson and Janice and Bob Krauth. Loving cousins include Michael and McKenna Melville, Curran, Garrett (Kassidy), Gavin, Jordan (Joe) Gillen, Brooke and Nick Gillen and Samantha, Amanda and Joseph Lackmann.

Bennett is preceded in death by his grandfathers, Doug Gillen and Joe Kotok who played an important role in Bennett’s life with lessons of hard work, determination, faith and the importance of education.

Both loved the outdoors, and it was Bennett’s favorite place to be largely due to their influence. Friendships were vitally important to Bennett and lifelong friends Mark Rogalski and Sam Fulton were like family to him amongst many more, too numerous to count.

Bennett lived an accomplished life though cut too short. Bennett loved all competition and thrived playing sports of all kinds including intramural basketball, football, and baseball serving as the team captain. He was also the Class President of the Class of 2023. He was natural leader and thrived academically. He was Student Council President, Model UN Captain, Peer Ministry leader and many other activities at Saint Thomas Academy, his beloved high school. He loved being a Cadet and being part of the Brotherhood and legacy of the school.

Bennett was a pre-med major at Creighton University and though extremely challenging, he excelled in his first year. He wanted to pursue medicine to help people live a better life and that’s exactly who Bennett was. Bennett had a friend everywhere we went due to his engaging, genuine, manner. Bennett had a kindness about him, and he sought the good in everyone.

Bennett had high personal standards and he drove himself and others around him to continue to grow, evolve and challenge themselves to always be better. He was an inspiration to those who were close to him, especially his family.

Photo taken by Saint Thomas Academy staff the day after Bennett died with a post that a new angel has arrived.

Our Lady of Grace is where Bennett’s faith journey began as a lifelong parishioner and that carried over to STA where he was part of Campus Ministry there under the guidance of Father Mark Pavlak who was an important person in Bennett’s life. Faith was an integral part of his life and the foundation for his strong moral compass which was unwavering. He helped everyone around them to become a better version of themselves. Bennett brought joy to any room simply by just being in it, sharing his positive energy with those around him, especially his family and close friends whose hearts are broken today.

In lieu of flowers, family is requesting donations be made in his name to Saint Thomas Academy to provide financial assistance to more families who desire a Catholic education. cadets.com/giving

A prayer vigil will be held at Saint Thomas Academy on Friday, January 26 at 7:00 PM. Mass of Christian burial will be held at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church on Saturday, January 27 at 11:30 AM with visitation starting at 10:00 AM.

When you see a beautiful sunset or sunrise, think of the goodness Bennett brought to this world and share it with others, just as he did with us, even if it was for too short of time.

 
 

Mary Trainor Walsh Funeral

Friday, January 5, 2024 | 11:00 AM

Mary Trainor Walsh, of Eden Prairie, MN, passed away at home on December 28th, 2023 at the young age of 66.

Mary is survived by her husband of 43 years, Terry; children, Trainor, Bridget (Shawn), and Gordon (Lindsay); five grandchildren, Max, Hannah, Caroline, Bodie, and Theo; and sisters, Susan and Anne. Mary is predeceased by her parents, Owen and Joanne, who brought Mary up in Minnesota and Iowa.

Mary and Terry met at the University of Iowa (Go Hawks!), married, moved to Illinois and started their family. Their work, and later desire to be near her kids and grandkids, took them to Iowa, Michigan, back to Illinois, Colorado, Texas, and finally Minnesota. No matter where she lived Mary was a loving friend, a generous volunteer, and a dedicated mother, committed to providing the absolute best for her family.

Throughout her career, Mary was a loyal and trusted business colleague. Starting early in her professional life, she prepared personal taxes at numerous accounting firms, and later, advanced to more senior roles in wealth management at The Northern Trust. Retiring in 2015, Mary took every opportunity to reconnect with friends and family; many who cherished the chance to rekindle their friendships with Mary. Above all, she was fiercely devoted to her grandchildren, attending every game, recital, and event she possibly could. She was loved dearly and will be sorely missed.

All are welcome at the visitation to be held at 10 AM, followed by the funeral at 11 AM, on Friday, January 5th, at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church in Edina, MN. For those unable to attend the service in person, a link to the livestream will be available on Mary's obituary page in the near future.

If you'd like to make a donation instead of sending flowers, Mary's family asks that you give to Active Minds, the nation's leading nonprofit promoting mental health awareness for young adults. This felt like a natural choice as Mary loved young people and was moved to make the world better than she found it.

Judie Davis Florenzano Funeral

Thursday, December 21, 2023 | 10:30 AM

Florenzano, Judie age 77, of Edina, MN, passed away from complications of pneumonia on December 4, 2023 at Fairview Southdale hospital. Heaven gained an angel and our beautiful Judie claimed her wings surrounded by her loving family.

Judie was as beautiful inside as she was radiant on the outside. She was the beloved only child of Flick and Luella Davis (deceased.) She grew up in south Minneapolis and graduated from Washburn High School. She met Joe Florenzano during spring break in Florida in a romance that could have been from a beach party movie. They fell in love immediately, carried on a long distance romance between Minnesota and Rhode Island, and married in Barrington, Rhode Island in June, 1970.

Judie became an RN, graduating from St. Mary’s School of Nursing in Winona, MN. She started her professional nursing career at the University of Minnesota Burn Unit and then worked at Metropolitan Medical Center (which later became Hennepin County Medical Center.) At MMC Judie practiced nursing in the field of Psychology, becoming the Head Nursing Supervisor of the Psychiatric Intensive Care unit. In 1975 - 1977 Judie taught Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN) courses at St. Paul Technical Vocational Institute (STP-TVI) now called St. Paul College. During this time Judie was also studying for her masters degree at Augsburg University on a nursing scholarship. She was doing her masters thesis on MS and taking a clinical course where she was assigned to a veteran at the Veterans Hospital diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. After learning all the early signs of the disease, Judie realized that she thought she may have M.S. because she was experiencing many of the same symptoms as her VA patient. Judie’s self-diagnosis was later confirmed by her doctors. Her health slowly declined to the point that she was unable to work any longer and was later confined to a wheelchair. The once rising shining star in the nursing profession was no longer able to climb at the tender young age of 31. Judie and her family continued to live with M.S. until her death. Judie always gave her best to combat her disease and maintain her vitality, and her valiant, fighting spirit persisted until her last, final breath.

Judie was the mother of two children that she adored. She is survived by her loving daughter, Ashle; her son, Zachary, who survives in our hearts, predeceased Judie in 1998 at the age of 16. She is also survived by her devoted husband, Joe Florenzano, her brother-in-law David Florenzano, his wife Anne and nephews Eric and Kevin Florenzano.

A celebration of her life will be held on Thursday, December 21, 2023 at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church in Edina, 5071 Eden Ave, at 10:30 AM with a visitation at 9:30 AM. In Lieu of flowers donations can be sent online to either the MS Society fundraisingsupport@nmss.org specify “Upper Midwest Chapter” (checks may be sent to: National MS Society, PO. Box 88540, Carol Stream, IL. 60188 specify “Upper Midwest Chapter”) -OR- Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of MN (wrcmn.org) 2530 Dale St N, Roseville, MN 55113.

Alan Sweet Funeral

Wednesday, December 20, 2023 | 10:30 AM

Sweet, Alan "Al" David beloved husband, father, musician, and educator died on Dec. 14, 2023 peacefully at his home in Hopkins, MN at the age of 100. He will be deeply missed by his spouse of 55 years, Philothea Theresa Sweet; daughter, Sue Ravenscraft Lynch (David); son, David Alan Sweet (Erin); along with his three adoring grandchildren, Andrew, Julianna and Katarina. Born on January 10, 1923, in Marble, MN, Al graduated from Greenway High School in Coleraine, MN in 1940. After graduating from Itasca Community College in 1942, he joined the US Army Engineers in1943, and then the US Army Air Corps and served with the Eighth Air Core in England during World War II. After being honorably discharged he returned to his love of music, graduating with a Music Education degree in 1947 and a Master of Education degree in 1949 from the University of Minnesota along with additional graduate work to achieve a certification in counseling and educational administration. Al was a high school band director in Aiken, Grand Rapids, Saint Paul Park, and Duluth. He then worked as a high school counselor in Minneapolis. He later became an administrator in the federal programs at the department of Minneapolis Public Schools in the Teacher Center at the University of Minnesota. Al's life was always filled with a great love for music - arranging music and directing the orchestra for the Grand Rapids Showboat for 30 years, the Somewhat Dixieland Band, then playing his trombone in the Classic Big Band and the St. Louis Park Community Band. Later in life, he composed several pieces for grade school, high school and college bands published by Love Bird Music and Harmony Bridge. During retirement, he enjoyed gardening, golfing, woodworking, skiing, volunteering at Our Lady of Grace Church, and spending time with his loving family. Mass of Christian Burial 10:30am Wednesday December 20th with visitation beginning at 9:30am at Our Lady of Grace Church, 5071 Eden Avenue South, Edina. Interment Fort Snelling Cemetery. washburn-mcreavy.com Edina Chapel 952-920-3996

William F. Schoenwetter Funeral

Friday, December 15, 2023 | 10:30 AM

William F. “Bill” Schoenwetter, M.D. (88) passed away surrounded by loved ones after a long battle with Alzheimer’s. He is survived by his devoted wife of 63 years, Barbara; his children: Jeffrey M. Schoenwetter (Nancy), Laura L. Johnson (Brooks), and Charles J. Schoenwetter (Robin); his grandchildren: Anne L. Omdahl (Eric), Jon M. Schoenwetter, Alissa M. Johnson, Hunter F. Johnson, and Elizabeth “Betsy” Schoenwetter; his brother, James L. Schoenwetter, and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his father, William M. Schoenwetter and his mother, Anne L. Schoenwetter. Raised in Emerald, WI, Bill earned his B.S. and M.D. from the University of WI where he fell in love with Barbara Barney. After completing his Internship at Hennepin County General Hospital in Minneapolis, they married in 1960. Bill completed an Internal Medicine Residency at the University of MN, followed by a NIH Fellowship in Allergy and Clinical Immunology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He was drafted into Active Duty in 1968. As a Captain in the U.S. Army Medical Corps in Pennsylvania, he was awarded an Army Commendation Medal and served as both Chief of the Department of Hospital Clinics and as Chief of Allergy at Valley Forge General Hospital. After his Army service, Bill and his family returned to Minnesota where he was certified in Allergy & Immunology as well as Internal Medicine. He practiced medicine for 40 years and served as: Chief, Allergy Section at Hennepin County Medical Center; Medical Director, Asthma and Allergy Research Center at Park Nicollet; Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Minnesota Medical School; and as a consultant in allergic diseases at Brainerd Medical Center. Bill had a passion for research and continuing medical education. He published numerous scientific papers in leading medical journals and presented lectures all over the world. He served in local, state, and national roles in allergy societies and boards including: Chair, Ethics Committee at American Academy of Allergy; Board Chair, Med Center Health Plan; President, Minnesota Allergy Society; President and Board Chair, Hennepin Medical Society; Member, Editorial Board of MN Medicine; Member, Editorial Board of the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology; and board member at both Health Partners and Park Nicollet in St. Louis Park. He was a man of great faith and integrity, not easily swayed by changing times and values. He had a wry sense of humor, a wonderful smile, and enjoyed annual fishing and hunting trips. A private family interment will be held at Fort Snelling National Cemetery.

The funeral will take place at Our Lady of Grace on Friday, December 15, 2023 at 10:30 AM, with a visitation at 9:30 AM.