Senora Geraldine Holstad

Senora G. Holstad, 89, formerly of Lake Mills, passed away Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, at her daughter’s home in Carefree, Ariz. Time for visitation with the family will be held Monday, Oct. 28 from 4-7 p.m. at Schott Funeral Homes-Mittelstadt Chapel, Lake Mills. The funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 29, at Emmons Lutheran Church, Emmons, Minn., with brief visitation with the family for one hour prior to the funeral service. She will be interred at Sion Lutheran Cemetery following the service and fellowship. Memorials may be directed to the Holstad family to be shared with Harmony Ranch, Clear Lake, and both Sion Lutheran Church and Sion Lutheran Cemetery, rural Lake Mills.
Senora Geraldine Holstad was born March 22, 1935, at her family home on the north shore of Silver Lake in rural Worth County, to Clarence and Irene (Bendickson) Sorbo. She was baptized at Silver Lake Lutheran Church in Worth County and was confirmed at Emmons Lutheran Church. She attended country school in Silver Lake Township #2, Worth County, until the school closed. She completed her education at Emmons High School, graduating in 1953.
After high school graduation, she moved to Northwood to work as the office assistant for the Worth County Farm Bureau. She met Dean E. Holstad at the Worth County fair. They were united in marriage at Emmons Lutheran Church on Aug. 20, 1955. They raised their six children—Michael, Diane, Randy, Connie, Lori, and Dan—on their family farm in Silver Lake Township, northeast of Lake Mills.
She worked full-time as a mother, homemaker, tending the chickens, and preparing meals and snacks for family members out working in the fields. After several years, she started working at Land-O-Lakes in Albert Lea, Minn. She also worked many years as a cook at Lake Mills Care Center, followed by several years working at Deluxe Products, later renamed Fleetguard, Cummins Engine Company, in Lake Mills, until retirement. She also was a distributor for Amway, Shaklee and Watkins products through these years.
Senora had numerous interests, especially cooking, canning, and baking. Caring for people through great food was her delight, often making large batches of homemade bread, buns, cinnamon rolls, and bars for countless family gatherings, confirmations, graduations, weddings, and church activities. She also enjoyed sewing and crafting. She used her talents for her family and to support Sion Lutheran Church missions. She also was an avid reader of cooking magazines and books, but especially enjoyed reading her Bible and the studies with her church circle. She cherished her family and loved spending time with them, attending their activities whenever possible. Her other delights included music, dancing, playing games with family and friends, and time spent sharing a meal with family and friends.
Senora and Dean enjoyed traveling together. After their honeymoon in Canada, travel opportunities were few due to their dairy farm operation, but they were particularly thrilled to go on the Holstad Family heritage trip to the home family farms in Norway and Sweden just prior to their 50th wedding anniversary in 2005. She was proud of her Norwegian heritage and spoke the old dialect fluently, so the trip to Norway to visit with family was a highlight of her life. She also enjoyed several other trips with family during their retirement years.
Senora and Dean moved from the farm to a home in Lake Mills in 1989, spending their summers at their trailer by Silver Lake on the farm where she grew up. They have spent the last few years living with family, enjoying time together and creating wonderful memories. Some of Senora’s favorite pastimes have included watching the boats on Clear Lake, gardening and sharing fresh produce with family, enjoying meals by the pool, watching wildlife in Arizona (including their resident bobcat), reading and basking in the sunshine, daily walks, and visits with loved ones. Her family marveled at how her health improved during these years living with family, so we were all surprised by her sudden passing.
She is survived by her husband of 69 years, Dean Holstad; their children: Michael (Ellen) Holstad, Diane (Scott Marpe) Honsey, Randy (Dorene) Holstad, Connie (Ronald) Arispe, Lori (Terry) Peterson, and Dan (Jennifer) Holstad; grandchildren: Cassondra (Logan) Willmert and children, MacKenzie, Caleb and Leah; Mikaella (Quinn) Vuong; Sandy (Lane) Vanek and children, Kenna and Taylor; Brad Honsey; Matthew (Tiffany) Holstad and children, Jaydalyn and Jaxson; Kristen (Donald) Guarino and children, Evelyn and Paul; Brianna (Cutter) Bruce; Lindsay (Gregory) Samuels and son, Elliott; Aaron (Nikki) Arispe and daughter, Aspen, Megan (Seth) Miezwa and children, Connor and Alexa; Lauren (Drew) Nieson and children, Aubrey and Gabriel; Joshua Peterson; and Kyle (Katie) Peterson; Johnathan Holstad and Ellie Holstad; siblings: Clarine Coker, Clifford (Sue) Sorbo, and Linda (Bill) Ward; sisters-in-law: Vivian (David) Freed, Mavis Bergo, Eva Haroldson and Dorothy Holstad; uncle, Glenn (Mary) Sorbo; and countless other beloved cousins, nieces, nephews, extended family members, and friends.
Senora will be remembered and missed by an extensive family and community, but we are confident that she is enjoying a great reunion with her beloved family that were waiting for her in heaven.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Clarence and Irene Sorbo; parents-in-law, John and Edith Holstad; brother, Gaylord Sorbo; son-in-law, Ross Honsey; brothers-in-law: Dennis Peterson, Ernest Bergo, Ade Coker, Jerry Holstad, Virgil Holstad, and Milton Haroldson; and sister-in-law, Helen Holstad.