Patricia 'Pat' Piepenburg

Patricia “Pat” A. Piepenburg, age 75 of Grove City, MN died on Thursday February 9, 2023, at the Meeker Memorial Hospital in Litchfield, MN.  A funeral service will be held at 11:00 AM on Monday February 20, 2023, at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Litchfield, MN.  Visitation will be held from 4:00 - 6:00 PM on Sunday February 19, 2023, at Johnson Hagglund Funeral Home and will continue one hour prior to the service at church.  Interment will be held in Ripley Cemetery, Litchfield, MN.  The service will be livestreamed at www.johnsonhagglund.com

Patricia “Pat” Ann Piepenburg, the daughter of David and Dorothy (Danielson) Piepenburg was born on April 23, 1947, in Litchfield, MN.  She graduated from Grove City High School in 1965 and continued her education at Augsburg University, graduating with a degree in Physical Education in 1969, where she also played women's basketball in the pre title IX years on the Auggiettes Women's basketball team.  Over those four years the team only lost 4 games and Pat was one of the leading scorers and was inducted into the Augsburg Athletic Hall of Fame in 2011.  With natural athleticism and excelling at sports, Pat fell in love with basketball and began her coaching career.  She taught Physical Education and coached various grade levels in Atwater, MN for 35 years while also working on the family farm.  She was loved and respected by students and coworkers alike.  Pat invested her time in things she cared about and valued.  She was an active member of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church and also supported the Litchfield Area Mentorship Program,  Ducks Unlimited, the Department of Natural Resources, Augsburg University and many conservation projects.  Pat was a non-traditionalist and very independent.  She had a unique personality and was organized, planful and always prepared.  She was a good cook, she enjoyed planning picnics and woodland cookouts with friends and fellow teachers.  Throughout her life she was the ultimate dog mom to her beloved pets Brady, Sammy, Choco, Molly, and Benelli.  After retiring from teaching she spent time traveling with tour groups to various destinations across the United States and Canada including numerous fishing trips to Canada.  Pat also loved  gardening, and the pies Pat made were always something everyone looked forward to enjoying.   Growing up fishing was a weekly activity in the Piepenburg household and Pat learned from her Dad Dave all of the strategies.  She then passed this knowledge on to her grand nieces and nephews even outfitting them with their own tackle box equipped with everything they needed as a gift for their birthdays.  Pat was passionate about supporting wildlife.  She was diligent and steadfast in her commitment to the deer population by planting food plots each year.  She loved sharing her knowledge of hunting, fishing, and land conservation to advocate for being a responsible steward of the land.  

She is survived by a brother Jim (Belinda) Piepenburg of Arizona; and a sister Marcia (John) Larson of Paynesville, MN, her nieces and nephews Krista (Chris) Black of Arizona, Jaime Piepenburg of Arizona, Stacey (Rich) Junghans of Stillwater, MN, Kris (Blaine) Dumke of Victoria, MN, David Larson of Paynesville, MN, great nieces and nephews Nicolas Martin, Andrew, Arieanna, Alexander and Analise Junghans and Jack and Sally Dumke.

She was preceded in death by her parents David and Dorothy, and an infant brother.

Family would like any donations in Pat's name to go to the Care Program in Grove City, Minnesota: P.O. Box 192, Grove City, MN 56243.