Joseph W. Waugh, age 60, of Stewartville, Minn., passed away peacefully at his home on Friday March 31, 2017 following a courageous battle with cancer. He was sur-rounded by his loving family.Joseph Wesley Waugh was born on March 28, 1957  in Rochester, Minn. to Kenneth and Fern (Blauer) Waugh. He grew up on the family farm, attending Stewartville schools, graduating from Stewartville High School in 1975. 

Leona R. Blatti, 101, of Kasson and formerly of rural Mantorville, died March 31, 2017, at Fairview Care Center in Dodge Center of natural causes. She enjoyed her friends and activities while living at Sunwood Manor during the last three years.

Betty Lavaine Wohlfiel , 83 of Kasson, passed away Wednesday, March 29, 2017 at Fairview Care Center in Dodge Center.
She was born Aug. 15, 1933 to Edwin and Helma Ness in rural Dodge County, Minn.  On Feb. 27, 1952 she was united in marriage to Melvin L. Kramer.  They had two daughters, Bonnie and Diane. 
Melvin was killed in a car accident in 1960. 

Ann Denise Bradford, 63, of Mantorville, passed away on March 31, 2017, at Mayo Clinic Hospital St. Marys Campus in Rochester, due to complications of heart surgery.

Robert Reeg, a 9/11 firefighter from Engine 44, called the Steele County Times office yesterday.I didn’t know the man, but I do know his friend, Jimmy Lanza, from ladder truck 43. I was informed that Lanza had been diagnosed with brain cancer last November.
“Jimmy’s at Mary Manning Walsh hospice now,” Reeg said with a break in his voice. “I was there with my care dog to visit him yesterday and he’s incommunicado.”

Watch out for Triton High School’s FFA chapter.
It’s about 50 to 55 students strong, and growing.
“They’ve got a giant snowball going, and it gets bigger and bigger every year, and they get better and faster and smarter every year,” FFA alumni Tim Marquardt said. “Once one kid sees one of his classmates succeed, then he wants to succeed, too. So it makes everybody try a lot harder.”

Dennis Wayne Nelson, age 75, passed away on Thursday, March 23, 2017 at his resi-dence in Waltham, Minn.
Dennis was born Jan. 3, 1942 in Hartley, Iowa to William and Ruth (Steuck) Nelson, the oldest of two children. He graduated from Hayfield High School in 1960. On Aug. 8, 1964 Dennis married Diane Marie Fairbank in Hayfield at the Trinity Lutheran Church.

Charlotte Nelson, age 90, of Gilbert, Ariz., formerly of West Concord, Minn., passed away on March 15, 2017.

It’s so easy to fall away from spirituality, from pausing to consider the big picture and give thanks for all our blessings. You just go along with the fast-paced madness, working and frowning and worrying, hardly breathing,  tense, cynical, slowly dying on the vine.
It’s easy to return when you visit places like Pleasant Corners United Methodist Church, and watch the faithful loving life out in the country.