Willa Mae Alberts

September 26, 1928 - April 16, 2018

Willa Mae Alberts, age 89, of Dassel, died Monday, April 16, 2018, at the Hutchinson Hospital. A funeral service will be held on Saturday, April 21, 2018, at 10:30 a.m. at the Gethsemane Lutheran Church in Dassel with the Rev. Laurie O'Shea officiating. Interment will be held at the Dassel Community Cemetery following the service. There will be a visitation on Friday evening from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Johnson Funeral Home in Dassel. There will be a one-hour visitation prior to the service on Saturday at the Gethsemane Lutheran Church in Dassel. Willa Mae Patricia (TePoel) Alberts, the daughter of William and Lena (Fishler) TePoel, was born on September 26, 1928, in Ashland, Nebraska. Willa Mae was baptized at St. Patrick's Catholic Church. She attended school in Fremont, Nebraska and graduated in 1944. Willa Mae went on to Midland College where she earned a degree in bookkeeping. On August 18,1948, Willa Mae married Dennis Friedrich Alberts in Fremont, Nebraska. Dennis and Willa Mae moved around the first few years of their marriage. They lived in Paris, Texas and then to Sycamore, Illinois where their son, Lynn was born. In 1954, Willa Mae, Dennis and Lynn moved to Dassel, and this is where Willa Mae and her family settled for the next 64 years. Using her degree in bookkeeping, Willa Mae worked with Dennis at DeKalb Hatchery. Willa Mae's faith and her church were very important to her. She was an active member of Gethsemane Lutheran Church where she had served on the church board and often helped out serving at funerals and other functions at church. Willa Mae's strong belief in helping people and caring about her community lead her to serve as Secretary/Treasurer of the Dassel Community Chest for 40 years. Her interests included playing cards with her friends, belonging to a sewing club where very little sewing occurred but loved the fellowship. Willa Mae's interest in sports spilled over to watching the Minnesota Timberwolves, listening to the Minnesota Twins, but her favorite sport was watching her sons and grandsons play sports. Holidays and special occasions were always celebrated with Willa Mae cooking her grandsons' favorites and especially serving her cookies. She was delighted in the recent addition of her great grandchildren who held a special spot in her heart. Willa Mae was the quiet source of strength through her family's lifetime. She always knew what to say and how to help. She was the neighbor who welcomed you into the neighborhood and provided you with a treat and the one, who in time of need, helped in anyway she could. Willa Mae will be missed by her family and her many friends. Willa Mae is survived by her sons, Lynn (Mary) Alberts of Maple Grove, Curtis (Riko) Alberts of Rogers, two grandchildren, David (Ann) Alberts of Las Cruces, New Mexico and Michael (Justine) Alberts and two great grandchildren, Lauren and Brien Alberts of Helena, Montana. She was preceded in death by her husband, Dennis, her parents, and three sisters, Mildred, Lucille, and Phyllis.