Lillian Klaassen

Lillian Grace Buhler was born on July 12, 1929 to Aron and Mary (Schultz) Buhler at Mountain Lake, MN. She attended the Mountain Lake Bible School, and graduated from the Mountain Lake High School, and she continued her education with one year of Adult Bible Education. Lillian was baptized in the lake at Mountain Lake on August 2, 1942, following her accepting Jesus as her Savior. On August 11, 1949, Lillian was united in marriage to John M. Klaassen at the Evangelical Mennonite Brethren Church inMountain Lake. They made their home northwest of Mountain Lake for ten years before moving to Madelia, MN, where they lived for 34 years. While in Madelia Lillian worked as a Nurse's Aid and in Central Supply at the Madelia Hospital. Music was Lillian's gift from God. She played piano, organ, vibraharp, harmonica and accordian. She served as church organist and loved playing for quartets. She was a Sunday School Teacher, active in the Mission Society and many other areas of the Church. She enjoyed playing games, flowers and gardening, collecting lighthouses, cooking and baking for her grandchildren, making afghans for her family, fishing, and traveling to Arizona for many winters. She was a member of the Glad Gardners and served as a 4-H leader. Lillian was a true prayer warrior - words of encouragement and special Verses were always ready for someone. Her happy and possitive attitude were with her continually, despite the health concerns she faced so often. Lillian died on Tuesday, August 7,2007 at Methodist Hospital in Rochester, MN. Lillian is survived by her husband of 58 years, John Klaassen of Mountain Lake; 4 children, Linda (Mitch) Wilson of Sioux Falls, SD, Charlie (Rhonda) Klaassen of Brooklyn, IA, Arlie Klaassen of Mountain Lake, and Laura (Chuck) Winkler of Tucson, AZ; 6 grandchildren, Brenda (Jason) Willis of North Liberty, IA, Chris (Amy) Klaassen of Omaha, NE, Rachel Klaassen and fiance Chad Latcham of Brooklyn, IA, Matthew Wilson of Sioux Falls, Tyler Winkler of Biloxi, MS, and Nicole Winkler of Tucson; 3 greatgrandchildren, Ally Drew Willis and Kaylee Klaassen, and an anticipated September arrival of a new great granddaughter; 3 sisters, twins Martha (Melvin) Claassen of Mountain Lake and Mary (Ventura) Saenz of Panama, and Agnes (Greg) Tharp of France; a brother, Paul Buhler of Denmark; many other relatives and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents; and a sister, Eleanor Gardner.