Mary Jane (Knutson) Lindstrand

Mary Jane Lindstrand, 83, of Kandiyohi, died, Saturday, May 16, 2026, at the Paynesville Health Care Center.

Her memorial service will be 11:00 a.m. Friday, June 5, at Ebenezer Lutheran Church in Kandiyohi and will be streamed on the church's YouTube page.  Interment will be in the church cemetery.  Visitation will be 5:00-7:00 p.m. Thursday, June 4, at Harvey Anderson Funeral Home in Willmar and will continue one hour prior to the service at the church on Friday.  In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to the Ebenezer Cemetery Fund.

Mary Jane was born April 13, 1943, in Granite Falls, to Clifford and Delores (Johnson) Knutson. She grew up near Granite Falls and was baptized at Rock Valle Lutheran Church. Following her mother’s death in 1949, Mary Jane and her sister, Ruth Ann, were raised by their maternal grandparents, Alfred and Hilma Johnson, in Sacred Heart. Mary Jane was confirmed in 1956 at Ebenezer Lutheran Church in Sacred Heart. In 1961, she graduated from Sacred Heart High School and then attended medical laboratory assistant courses at the University of Minnesota. She interned at Our Lady of Mercy Hospital in Alexandria.

On June 13, 1964, she married Harvey Lindstrand at Ebenezer Lutheran Church in Sacred Heart. They made their home in Kandiyohi, and four sons, Steven, Charles, Gregory, and Jonathan, were born to their marriage. Mary Jane worked as a laboratory technician at Rice Memorial Hospital in Willmar from 1965 to 1967. She then worked for the University of Minnesota from 1967 to 1976 and at Kashmark’s Grocery in Kandiyohi from 1982 to 1986. She later was a caregiver to several family members.

Mary Jane was a member of Tripolis Lutheran Church near Kandiyohi from 1965 to 1974, when the family transferred to Ebenezer Lutheran Church in Kandiyohi, where she remained an active member. She was also active with the Kandiyohi Women’s Civic Club, Kandiyohi Ladies Sewing Club, and the Kandiyohi-Whittier School Volunteer Group. She volunteered as a Cub Scout den mother and with Bloodmobile and Get Out the Vote campaigns. In later years she was active with the formation of the Kandiyohi Keeping Society and the Kandiyo-Hilighter. 

Mary Jane enjoyed cooking, canning, and freezing. She was artistic and enjoyed sewing, knitting, crocheting, crafts, and refinishing furniture. She also enjoyed family history, antiques, crossword puzzles, and reading.

Mary Jane is survived by her four sons: Steve (Korin) of Bass Lake, Charles of Hawick, Greg (Tammy) of Waconia, and Jon (Myla) of Kandiyohi; seven grandsons; two step-grandsons; two granddaughters; two great-grandsons; and two great-granddaughters. She is also survived by her sister, Ruth Ann Koenen; her sister-in-law, Vivian Knutson; and several nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Harvey, in 2023; her brother, John Knutson; and her brother-in-law, Vern Koenen.

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