Leona Marie Simonson

Leona M. Simonson, age 101, of Litchfield died on Thursday, December 12, 2019 at Bethany Assisted Living in Litchfield. Funeral services will be held at 2:00 PM on Wednesday, December 18, 2019 at the Ostmark Lutheran Church in rural Watkins. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service. Interment will be in the church cemetery. Leona Marie Simonson was born June 14, 1918, in North Kingston Township to Frank and Hilda (Dahlgren) Simonson. She was baptized by Dr. G. Rast on June 30, 1918 and confirmed by Rev. A.H. Franzen on November 1, 1931. She has been a member of Ostmark Lutheran Church her entire life. She graduated from Litchfield High School in 1935 and from the Litchfield teacher training department in 1937. After teaching in rural schools in Meeker County for a number of years, she attended St. Cloud State College and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education in 1957. Leona then taught in Annandale for twenty years, retiring in 1977. She lived on her farm home in rural Kimball until 1997 when she moved to an apartment in Litchfield. During the summers of 1966 and 1974, she traveled with her brother, Clarence, to Sweden to visit relatives. They did some sight seeing in Sweden, Norway and Denmark. Leona loved her family and took care of both her mother and her brother in their later years. She is survived by her nephews Bruce (Rhoda) Simonson of Yucaipa, CA and Paul Simonson of CA. She is also survived by other relatives and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents, brothers Reuben and Clarence.