Loretta M. Minnaert

Loretta M. Minnaert, 95, of Atkinson, passed away on Friday, August 28, 2020, at Hammond Henry Hospital: Long Term Care Living Center, Geneseo.  A private funeral mass will be held at St. Anthony Catholic Church, Atkinson, IL.  Reverend S. Stephen Engelbrecht will celebrate.  Burial will follow at St. Anthony Cemetery.  A drive through visitation will be held from 5 – 7 p.m. on Monday, August 31, 2020, at Vandemore Funeral Homes & Crematory – Geneseo Chapel.  Those attending the visitation will not be allowed to exit their vehicles due to COVID protocol.  In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in memory of Loretta to St Anthony’s Catholic Church Building Fund, The Atkinson Women’s Club, The Atkinson Rescue Squad, or the Atkinson Beautification Committee.

Loretta was born March 5, 1925, in Moline, IL, daughter of Triphon and Elvira Musschoot DePauw. She graduated from Atkinson High School with the class of 1943 and married her high school sweetheart, Elmer Minnaert, on October 14, 1944, in St Anthony’s Catholic Church, Atkinson where she was a member.  The couple farmed west of Atkinson their entire married life, retiring in 1997. Loretta was last employed at Angela’s Apparel in Annawan, retiring in 1993.  Her memberships included St Anthony’s Altar and Rosary Society, Little Flower Court number 751 of the National Catholic Society of Foresters, where she served as Recording Secretary for many years and was named “Fraternalist of the Year”. She was also a member of The Atkinson Women’s Organization, The Ladies Auxiliary VFW #5083 in Geneseo, and a former member of The Women of the Moose Chapter #557 in Geneseo.

Her hobbies included vegetable and flower gardening and scrapbooking. She loved cookbooks and enjoyed collecting recipes of all kinds. She enjoyed handiwork like knitting and loved to embroider and cross-stitch quilts for her many grandchildren and great-grandchildren, which they treasure. She also created scrapbooks and photo memory books for the entire family. Throughout the years, she and her husband enjoyed rolle bolle and traveling near and far to watch their grandchildren and great-grandchildren participate in all sorts of sporting events and activities.

Survivors include four children and their spouses: Carol (Gene) Rudnik, Joline (Don) Sierens, Ron (Jeannie) Minnaert, and Randy (Belinda) Minnaert, nine grandchildren and spouses: David (Jeni) Rudnik, Andrew (Amy) Rudnik, Steven (Nancy) Rudnik, Annie (Dan) Cauthorn, Scott Sierens, Kymberlee (Brett) McKinley, Kale (Jodi) Minnaert, Stacy (Rob) Swain and Aaron (Chris) Minnaert, and twenty great-grandchildren: Milo and Ramona Rudnik, Mason, Brooks, and Logan Rudnik, Elizabeth, Lauren, and Kathryn Rudnik, Penny and Bee Cauthorn, Hank and Lucy McKinley, Scout, Remle and Addison Minnaert, Lindsey, Nick, and Paige Swain, Taylor and Reese Minnaert. She is also survived by 3 sisters-in-law: Gwen Ann DePauw, Marilyn Galle, Joyce Minnaert, and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband Elmer in 2008, her parents, her sister Lorraine DeSplinter and her brothers, Albert and Alfred DePauw.