Service Information
Carol F. Kiecker, age 81, of Hector passed away Sunday, March 23, 2025, at St. John Lutheran Home in Springfield, Minnesota.
Funeral Service will be Saturday, March 29, 2025, 10:00 A.M. at Emanuel Lutheran Church in Wellington Township, Renville County, Minnesota, with interment in the church cemetery.
Visitation will be Friday, March 28, 2025, from 4:00 P.M. -7:00 P.M. at Emanuel Lutheran Church, Wellington Township and will continue one hour prior to the service at the church.
Memorials can be sent to 70785 500th St., Hector, MN 55342
Obituary
Carol Florence Kiecker was born on April 4, 1943, in Lafayette Township, Nicollet County, Minnesota. She was the fifth child of Emil and Florence (Dommer) Rosenau. Carol was baptized as an infant on May 2, 1943, in Sanborn, Minnesota, and was later confirmed in her faith on April 14, 1957, at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. She attended Fairfax High School.
Carol met Gene while singing in the choir at Emanuel Lutheran Church and they were soon married on December 28, 1960. In the coming years, their marriage was blessed with six children and they shared 56 years of marriage. She lived at her current residence since 1967. Carol was employed at ADC in Fairfax for several years and she sold Avon. She was a loving mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.
Carol was a member of Emanuel Lutheran Church in Wellington Township, she volunteered at church and was a member of the ladies aid.
Carol enjoyed flowers, canning, collecting and bringing people together. She loved family gatherings, food, and socializing with family and friends.
Carol passed away on Sunday, March 23, 2025, at St. John Lutheran Home in Springfield at the age of 81 years. Blessed be her memory.
Carol is survived by her:
Sons, Brian Kiecker and his wife, Sally of Mesa, AZ; and their family Brian Kiecker Jr. and his wife, Angela of Gibbon, MN, and their children, Oliver, Jackson, Henry, Brian III, and Liam. Rachel (Kiecker) Dauer and her husband, Matthew of New Ulm, MN, and their children, Michael, Matthew, Madison and Maverick. Amber Kiecker and her fiancée, Drew Cook of Sleepy Eye, MN, and their children, Peyton, Clarence and Emmett;
Dale Kiecker of Fairfax, MN;
Gary Kiecker of Minnetonka, MN, and his family, Kayla Kiecker and her fiancée, Cody Rice of Maple Grove, MN,
Joshua Kiecker and his wife, Tiffanee of St. Michael, MN, and their children, Kadence and Everlee;
Daughter, Laurie Hammerschmidt and her husband, Todd of Sleepy Eye, MN, and their family, Chelsea Hoops and her husband, Jake of Eden Prairie, MN, Andrew Hammerschmidt of Apple Valley, MN, and his son, Mason, and Stephanie Hammerschmidt of Marshall, MN;
Sons, Gene Kiecker, Jr. and his wife, Stacy of Farmington, MN, and their family, Kaitlin Kiecker of Rochester, MN, and Nicholas Kiecker and his wife, Cassandra of Red Wing, MN, and their children, Sammy, Sunny and CeCe;
LeRoy Kiecker and his wife, Cheryl of Mankato, MN, and their family Jacob, Ethan and Hannah;
Siblings, Gene Rosenau, Diane Christensen, Emil Rosenau Jr, Marilyn Alsleben and her husband, Arden, and Dennis Rosenau and his wife, Debbie;
Sisters-in-law, Betty Rosenau, Lynette Rosenau, Barbara Rosenau;
along with many nieces and nephews.
Carol was preceded in death by her Parents, Emil and Florence Rosenau; Husband, Gene Kiecker; Siblings, Ronnie Rosenau and his wife, Violet, Vernie Rosenau, Melvin Rosenau and his wife, Joleen, David Rosenau, Larry Rosenau; Sisters-in-law, Alice Rosenau, Marlys Rosenau.
Becky Braulick says
So sorry for your families loss, Aunt Carol always greeted everyone with smiles and hugs. She will be missed!
Gwen Manthei says
I am so sorry to hear about your mom’s passing. I know she has struggled for quite a while with different health issues, but she always kept smiling and getting together with family, which was her most important part of life. She and I had been calling each other on our birthdays the past few years. I am sorry that I will not be able to come for her funeral. We just got home from our time out West and just learned about her passing. Your family is in my thoughts and prayers and you celebrate your mom’s life. May the Lord give you all comfort and peace knowing she is now with Jesus, her Savior, and others that have gone before her.
Kathryn Kiecker says
Sorry for your loss, she was a wonderful woman.
Gary J. Kiecker says
Yesterday my family said goodbye to my mom as a collective group coming together in a way, I think would have made mom very proud. The entire funeral service itself was very nice and was filled with the Holy Spirit, with many flowers which mom loved, and with many of her loving family and friends wanting to say a final goodbye to a beautiful woman they had the privilege to know and experience in their own lives.
After the service, moms’ children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren were all able to meet in moms’ home for one final gathering in her honor; and this family group, made up of many different personalities, blended itself in a way that would have made mom very happy. Hopefully, from her new viewpoints in Heaven she was able to look upon us all with favor and believing this, I am more at peace with her passing. I know she is in a much better place, BUT I will “Truly” miss her.
I was blessed to be an individual who has outlived both my parents. I was 53 when my dad passed away, and now with moms passing, I’m 61. I write and say this somewhat selfishly for two main reasons: firstly, as a parent myself I would not want any parent to lose a child before they themselves have gone, and thankfully my parents did not have to endure this while alive; and secondly, I had the benefit of having both of them with me for as long as I did, 57 years and they were able to share their wisdom with me, if I was open enough to listen, understand it for what it was, and then use it in my own life. They consistently passed along their wisdom and love in many different ways over all the years we shared. I can now see that much clearer than I did when they were still here, fortunately for me.
Losing the last of your parents at 50 or 60 is a unique kind of grief. It’s not the same as losing them young, when you might still be finding your way in life, nor is it the same as losing them while raising your own children, when maybe you’re too busy to fully process it. At 60, you’ve likely been an independent, responsible adult for many years, decades even; maybe you have already raised your kids, built a career, or have taken on different types of leadership roles in the family or some other groups. But no matter how old you are, when that final parent passes, something shifts deep inside you. I personally feel this shift now.
For the first time, you are nobody’s child. The generation above you is gone, and you now take their place as the elder. It can bring a strange mix of emotions, grief, nostalgia, even a sense of responsibility to carry forward your parents’ legacy. Theres no one left who remembers you as a baby, as a little kid running around their feet. No one left who truly saw your whole life unfold from the very beginning. That realization can make you feel very lost, even when you’re surrounded by family.
But at 60, you have also lived long enough to understand that grief isn’t something you “get over”. It’s something you carry forward with you and it gets fused into your very being. The key is to embrace the memories without being weighed down by them. That means sharing stories, keeping some traditions alive, and allowing yourself to feel their presence in everyday life. Maybe it’s making their favorite meals, using their phrases (that’s something mom would always say), or maybe seeing how your parents might be reflected in your siblings, children or grandchildren.
You still have to be the responsible adult, one of the leaders, the rock for others; but that does not mean you can’t grieve. It’s okay to have moments where you just miss them, where you wish you could pick up the phone and hear their voice. It’s okay to feel their absence, that deep ache.
But I think as we move forward, we will begin to realize that they are not truly gone. They live on in the lessons they taught us, the values they instilled in us, and the love they left behind for us. Now it’s our turn to be that presence for the next generations that will follow. Let’s make sure we do our best to honor our memories of mom and dad (there are many and vastly different for each of us) in a way that would make them proud.
It was very hard to write this out partly because of the emotion and tears interrupting my senses, but also, I wanted to honor my parent’s memory in a way that maybe dad would have done if he were writing to all of us, and I know my mom enjoyed what dad wrote about which was mainly their family…which is all of us.
Thanks Mom & Dad for all the memories!
Debra Zollner ROBERTS says
Very well said both of my parents are gone being the youngest is tuff but I have so many Memories of both of them n how much they did for me. I think the hardest is picking up the phone to ask my mom a quick question about a recipe n the phone had already been disconnected. Doesn’t get easier that’s for sure
Take care of yourself n your family
Regards
Debra Zollner Roberts