Anna E. Siems

Anna E. Siems, age 92, of Oronoco died Saturday, January 15, 2011, at her home in Oronoco. Funeral service is scheduled for Saturday, January 22, 2011, at 11:00 AM at Grace Lutheran Church in Oronoco with Reverend Paul Baldauf officiating. Burial will be in Oronoco Cemetery. Visitation is scheduled for Friday, January 21, 2011, from 4:00 - 7:00 PM at the Mahn Family Funeral Home - Mahler Chapel in Pine Island and on Saturday one hour prior to the service at the church.
Anna Elizabeth Neumann was born on March 13, 1918, on the family farm in Viola Township, Olmsted County, MN to Oscar and Eva (nee Loos) Neumann. She grew up on the family farm and attended country school. In 1935 she graduated from Rochester High School and in 1937 graduated from Winona Teachers College. Anna taught in country schools in the Rochester area and also taught in Bemidji, Kasson and Burley, Idaho. On September 15, 1951, she married Harley F. Siems at Peace Evangelical Church in Rochester. They made their home on the Siems family farm in Wabasha County, near Oronoco. Anna taught in Zumbrota and was teaching in Oronoco when she earned her Bachelor's Degree in Education from Winona State College in 1971. Harley and Anna moved off the farm and into Oronoco in 1978. Anna finished her teaching career in Rochester and retired in 1980. Anna was a member of Grace Lutheran Church, Ladies Aid and the Mazeppa Homemaker's Club. She enjoyed gardening, fishing, traveling, camping, playing cards, watching the sunsets on Lake Shady and being with her grandchildren and great grandchildren. Anna is survived by her two sons, Dennis (Debra) Siems of Mazeppa and Douglas Siems of Austin, TX; two daughters, Pamela (Bruce) Reistad of Austin, MN and Patricia (George) Bernhard of Glenside, PA; seven grandchildren, Ben (Christy) Siems, Broc (Abby) Siems, Brad (Crystal) Siems, Jason Reistad, Kimberly (Matthew) Raskin, Bill Bernhard and George Bernhard; six great-grandchildren, Matthew, Claire, Hannah, Sean, Kellen and Gabriella Siems and one brother, Calvin Neumann of Rochester. Anna was preceded in death by her parents, husband, Harley; one brother, Valentine Neumann and sisters, Mildred Tetzlaff and twin sister, Cora Frederick. The family prefers memorials to Grace Lutheran Church. Casketbearers are her grandchildren, Ben, Broc and Brad Siems, Jason Reistad, Kimberly Raskin, and Bill and George Bernhard. Honorary bearers are her great-grandchildren, Matthew, Claire, Hannah, Sean, Kellen, and Gabriella Siems.