Virginia Palke

Virginia Palke, 92, of Willmar formerly of Clara City, died Wednesday, October 30th at Clara City Care Center.  Her funeral will be 3:00 pm, Saturday, November 2nd, at Harvey Anderson Funeral Home in Willmar.  Visitation will be one hour prior to the service.  Burial will be in Bethany Reformed Cemetery in Clara City.  www.hafh.org

Virginia Elva Palke was born on May 24, 1927, in Omaha, Nebraska, the daughter of Lawrence and Frances (Christiansen) Engelhardt.  She grew up in Omaha where she attended Benson High School and graduated with the Class of 1945.  She was united in marriage to Fred Palke Jr. on February 8, 1946, in Omaha, Nebraska.  The couple lived in Omaha and Fred began farming in Blair, Nebraska in 1952.  They later purchased a farm in rural Clara City, Minnesota in 1958.  The couple lived and farmed in Clara City and raised their three children.  They retired from farming in 1974 and moved into Clara City in 1983.  Fred passed away in 2008.  Virginia continued to live in Clara City and in 2013 she entered Scandia Haus in Willmar. 

Virginia was baptized at the Lutheran Church of Our Redeemer and confirmed at Augustana Lutheran Church in Omaha.  She was a member of Bethany Reformed Church in Clara City, where she was active as a Sunday School Teacher and a member of Mission Circle.  She enjoyed bowling, golfing and fishing.  She and Fred would often have get-togethers with friends and play cards. 

Virginia passed away Wednesday, October 30th after a brief stay at Clara City Care Center.  She is survived by her daughters, Susan (and Ed) Evenson of Beresford, SD, Karen Henslin of La Habra, CA; son, Thomas (and Kathy) Palke of Willmar; seven grandchildren: Benjamin (and Grace) Henslin, Jaclyn (and Geoff) Mainwaring, Rachel (and Keith) Hengerle, Rebecca (and Minh) Tran, Amy (and Stephan) Benzmann, Brittni Palke and Jill (and Mark) Edwards; and eleven great-grandchildren.  Also surviving are her sisters-in-law:  Margaret Johnson of Montevideo and Doris Engelhardt of Omaha. 

In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by her parents, brother, and grandson, Josh Palke.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Virginia Palke, please visit our floral store.