Minnie T. Moeller, 90, of Estelline, died Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2017 at the Estelline Nursing and Care Center.
Funeral services are at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at the United Church of Christ in Estelline. Visitation is from 5: to 7 p.m Monday, at Geise Funeral Chapel in Estelline.
Minnie Tena Rieck was born on June 12, 1927, the daughter of Albert and Tena (Duesterback) Rieck on the family farm west of Estelline, near Lake Poinsett. She was baptized at Dempster Reformed Church. Her father died when she was four years old, but she always had memories of him when she sat on his lap. Minnie walked for 8 years a quarter of a mile to the Stark School and helped her mother and brothers on the farm. She met Morris Bakke, who was a good friend of her brothers.
Morris used to pick her brothers up and hang out at the lake, usually hunting or fishing. He then started picking up Minnie and they would later be married on Oct. 12, 1952.
The couple was married for 25 years, when Morris died in June of 1978. She began working at the Estelline Sewing Center, Ward’s Store and the Drive Inn, where she met and was later married to Marvin Moeller in November of 1981. They were married for nearly 25 years when Marvin died in October of 2006.
On the farm, Minnie was a stay at home mom and had large gardens and raised chickens, which brought many people to come to the farm to visit, have coffee, and buy eggs. Birthday parties were special, as she always had homemade buns for lunch, much like the buns her mother and sister made. Neighbor kids still rave about them to this day. In the spring, she helped with the field work. After she moved to Estelline, she continued walking all over town to stay in shape, and would always pick up cans. So if you see an empty can, pick it up and think of Minnie! She moved to the Estelline Care Center in September of 2012.
Minnie is survived by her sons, Larry (Evelyn) Bakke, of Estelline and James (Janice) Bakke, of Watertown; three grandchildren six step grandchildren; four great-grandchildren, seven step-great -grandchildren; five great-great-grandchildren; several nieces and nephews; a host of friends and all of the employees at the Estelline Care Center.
She is preceded in death by her two husbands; three brothers, Henry Rieck, Ernest (Alice) Rieck and Emil (Freida) Rieck and one sister, Nettie (Carl) Liljgren.
