Viola Dalquist-Westerman

Viola Dalquist-Westerman, 82 year old resident of Little Falls, MN passed away Monday, February 3, 2020 at the St. Otto’s Care Center in Little Falls, MN. A funeral service will be held at 11:00 A.M. on Saturday, February 8, 2020 at Grace Covenant Church in Little Falls, MN with Rev. Greg Satterberg officiating. Burial will take place at the Randall City Cemetery in Randall, MN. A visitation will be held from 4-7 P.M. on Friday at the Shelley Funeral Chapel in Little Falls and from 10-11 A.M. on Saturday at the church.
Viola was born January 21, 1938, in Browerville, Minnesota, to Frank and Ora (Van Hoever) Radimecky, the third child of nine. She was called ‘Ole’ by her family, a nickname that stayed with her all of her life. She grew up on a farm in Browerville with her parents, 3 brothers, and 5 sisters, and graduated from Browerville High School in 1956.
She was united in marriage to Ken Dalquist on April 29, 1961, at the Cushing Baptist Church in Cushing, Minnesota. They began married life in Steamboat, Oregon, where Ken worked for the U.S. Forest Service and Viola was a supervisor at the local Bell Telephone company. While in Steamboat, Viola had their first son, Eric in 1965. In 1966, they moved to northeast Minnesota, and in 1967 Viola had their second son, Kurt, in Ely. When they lived in Ely, Viola worked as a homemaker and part-time teaching special needs students at the local school. In 1976, the family moved to Cook, Minnesota. Viola worked at the Cook Nursing Home as a certified nursing assistant, eventually becoming the activities director there.
In 1985, they sold their home on Lake Vermilion in Cook and began semi-retirement at Randall, Minnesota, and wintered at the Lazy Palms Ranch in Edinburgh, Texas, until Ken’s death in 2003. During their time in Randall, Viola worked part-time at St. Otto’s Nursing Home. Also, she tended her beautiful flower and vegetable gardens and fruit trees, fed the birds, and spent time in the woods with Ken working on their firewood-cutting business. Viola also loved spending time with her grandchildren, Kelly, Erin, and Cole.
On December 2, 2006, Viola married Erich Westerman at the Grace Covenant Church in Little Falls, Minnesota, and quickly assimilated with Erich’s dynamic and wonderful family of 9 kids, 19 grandchildren, and 4 great-grandchildren. Viola enjoyed the big Westerman gatherings and the warmth and love they extended to her. Erich and Viola rode around their Randall farm on the four-wheeler, or “buggy” as Vi called it, and they enjoyed all the Westerman grandchildren. Upon Erich’s passing in June 2019, Viola lived at Highland Senior Living in Little Falls, Minnesota. While at Highland, she developed many meaningful friendships with the residents and staff.
Viola was a longtime member of the Grace Covenant Church; her life and actions were driven by her faith in Christ. Throughout her life, Viola had an adventurous spirit for travel, and she loved nature and the outdoors. She especially enjoyed cross country skiing, fishing, camping, and picking berries. She was also a master seamstress and sewed for herself and her family most of her life. Viola had a passion for food that she learned from her mother and shared with her family, and Viola loved creating, preparing and serving food to everyone, as well as canning—nobody went hungry around Viola.
Viola leaves behind her two sons, Eric C. Dalquist and wife, Kathy, of Thief River Falls, MN, and Kurt K. Dalquist and wife Julie of Lindstrom, MN. Her sisters and brothers: Janett Bundy, Hackensack, MN, sister-in-law Judy Radimecky of Browerville, MN, Jessie (Bill) Guy of Stacy, MN, Neil Radimecky of Browerville, MN, Marge Morrow of Backus, MN, Roger (Chris) Radimecky of Coon Rapids, MN, June Mason of Browerville, MN, Maxine Radimecky of Long Prairie, MN, and her stepsons and stepdaughters: Blaine (Sheila) Westerman of Clara City, MN, Scott (Jan) Westerman of Sauk Center, MN, Heide Westerman of Long Prarie, MN, Elizabeth Westerman of Long Prarie, MN, Erica Evoniuk of Upsala, MN, Andrea Westerman of Plymouth, MN, Jodi Westerman of Beaverton, OR, Sonja (Loren) Fellbaum of Eagle Bend, MN, Landon (Michelle) Westerman of Randall, MN, 22 grandchildren, and 4 great-grandchildren.
Viola is preceded in death by her parents Frank and Ora Radimecky, husband Kenneth Dalquist, husband Erich Westerman, brother Harry Radimecky, and infant daughter Ruth M. Dalquist.