Mildred "Millie" Wendt, age 86 of Glenwood, died Saturday, May 30, 2015 at the Glacial Ridge Hospital in Glenwood.  Funeral services will be held at 11:00 A.M. on Thursday, June 4 ^th at Chippewa Falls Lutheran Church in Terrace, Minnesota.  Visitation will be from 4:00 – 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday at the funeral home in Glenwood and will continue one hour prior to the service at the church on Thursday.  Interment will be in the church cemetery.  Arrangements are with the Hoplin-Hitchcock Funeral Home in Glenwood.

Mildred (Millie) Skarpness Wendt was born to John and Dena (Clauson) Skarpness on their farm in Kerkhoven Township, Swift Co., MN on October 25, 1928. Millie's grandmother was the midwife for her birth and Millie was the last baby she delivered.  Millie passed away at the Glenwood Hospital early Saturday morning, May 30, 2015 with her daughter, Jean, at her side.

John and Dena were both of 100% Norwegian ancestry and until Millie went to 1 ^st grade she only spoke Norwegian.  She was very proud of being 100% Norwegian.  She went to a little country school near their farm, attending through 8 ^th grade.

When Millie was younger she would sometimes go out with some of her friends and on July 18, 1947, she met Dale Henry Wendt from Donnelly, MN at a dance at the Lakeside Ballroom in Glenwood, MN.  They were married on December 12, 1948 at the Spring Creek Lutheran Church, rural Sunburg, Kerkhoven Twp, Swift Co, MN.  Millie and Dale had 3 children.  They were married for 44 years when Dale passed away on June 18, 1993.  After Dale died, Millie continued to live on the farm, which by then was being farmed by her son, Jim and his wife, Julie.  She loved being on the farm and seeing the animals and the wildlife in the area.

When first married, Millie and Dale lived by Donnelly and then they moved to the Terrace area.  Millie has lived on their present farm for about 60 years.

Millie was always very proud of her family.  When her grandchildren were in school she loved attending their events.  She was so proud of each of them and kept any newspaper clippings that had their names included.  Millie was also always very interested in what her great grandchildren were doing.  She loved hearing about them and enjoyed visits several times each week from her little great grandsons, Clark and Bruce, who would come by to say "Hi" and to get a Popsicle.

Some of her interests in life were her flower beds with her hollyhocks and dahlias, her embroidering of dish towels for her family, and her daily devotions.  We saw that she had used her daily devotional books with underlining's etc. right up until the day she fell and broke her pelvis.  God and the love of and the serving of the Lord were very important to her.  We are so glad she taught each of us to love the Lord.

Millie and Dale took many enjoyable bus tours with the Farmer's Union groups going all over the United States. Then after Dale passed away she also took a number of bus trips with her sisters, Doris and Florence.

Millie was active in the Mother's Club at School District 1709 and she was a very active member at Chippewa Falls Lutheran Church in Terrace, Minnesota.   She was in the choir for a number of years, she taught Sunday school, and was very involved with the Ladies Aid group and quilting group. She was a longtime member of Circle V.  Going to Circle and doing her bible lessons for it were such a joy for her.   She had lifelong friends in her Circle group and loved visiting with them and sharing their lives each month.

One thing that many people have told us they enjoyed was that Millie was a proud warrior of making sure your birthday was remembered. Each month she sent in family members and neighbors/friends birthdays to the Willmar radio station telling them who all had a birthday or anniversary during that month.  She loved to listen to the birthday listings and was always thrilled when one of her names won the daily cake.

Millie was a wonderful mother/friend with such a kind and soft heart; we will truly miss her and her personality.  She truly loved us with her whole heart and soul.   We are so thankful that her heart and soul are now in heaven with Jesus and her loved ones who went before her.  The last 2 months of Ma's life were joyful with the birth of a new great grandson but also sad and lonesome with the death of her sister Doris who she visited with on the phone many times a day.  When Doris died Ma lost her sister and her "best friend".  We knew then that when the time came we would be more able to accept her passing because we knew she would see those that she loved and missed.

Millie had a wonderful gift of being able to talk to anyone that she met.  She always enjoyed hearing about other people's lives and she always enjoyed talking to others about farming and those types of things.  This was a wonderful gift that she shared with many people.

Millie is survived by her 3 children and their spouses, Dale Jr. (Karen) of Glenwood, Jean (Allen) Marthaler of St. Joseph, and Jim (Julie) Wendt of Glenwood; as well as 8 grandchildren,  Scott (Lori) Wendt, Michelle (Steven) Strain, Melissa (Adam) Worke, Amy Trentacoste, Jeffrey Marthaler, Adam (Kristal) Wendt, Kelly (Sherri) Wendt, and Stacy Wendt; and 13 great grandchildren, Will and Jackson Wendt, Simon, Andrew and Benjamin Strain, Noah, Kaitlyn, Heidi and Isaiah Worke, Hadley Wendt, and Clark, Bruce and Logan Wendt

Millie was preceded in death by her husband, Dale Henry Wendt, her parents, John and Dena (Clauson) Skarpness and by her two sisters, Florence Spaanem and Doris Knutson and many other relatives and friends.