Mass of Christian burial will be 11 am on Thursday, September 28, 2023, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in New Ulm. Father Jerry Meidl will celebrate the Mass, and burial will follow in the New Ulm Catholic Cemetery.
Visitation will be held from 4-6 pm on Wednesday, and continue from 9-10:30 am on Thursday at the Minnesota Valley Funeral Home-North Chapel in New Ulm.
To sign the guestbook, or leave an online condolence for her family, go to: mvfh.org
Cyrilla is survived by her daughter, Leona (Jim) Arndt of New Ulm; her daughter-in-law, Donna Portner of Winthrop; her grandchildren, Holly (Mike) Syverson, Jill (Ben) McAninch, Cory (Erin) Portner, Justin (Nancy) Arndt, Scott (Heather) Portner; her great-grandchildren, Taylor (Jon) Hammerschmidt, Nicholas (Layne Bottin) Syverson, Bart, Frankie, Jack McAninch, Charlie and Maggie Arndt, Cade, Emma, and Easton Portner, Maddison, Brielle, and Kase Portner; her sisters, Carol Ludewig of New Ulm, Lavon Bode of Walker, Mercedes (Bob) Pelzel of Sleepy Eye; her brothers, Milton Gulden of New Ulm, Ken (Marcy) Gulden of New Ulm; her sister-in-law, Mildred Forst; her brother-in-law, Darwin Gieseke, and many other nieces, nephews, relatives and friends.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Marvin Portner; her son, Ronald “Ron” Portner; her sisters, Diane Gieseke, Mary Gulden; her brothers, Matthew Gulden, and Leander Gulden Jr; her sisters-in-law, Colletta Gulden, Sandy Gulden, Lois Harthaus; and her brothers-in-law, Dan Ludewig, Roland Bode, Stan Forst, and Bart Harthaus.
Cyrilla Helen Gulden was born April 8, 1930, in rural New Ulm-Brown County to Leander Sr. and Bernice (Ernsterhoff) Gulden. Cyrilla grew up in rural New Ulm, and attended grade school at St. Mary’s until the eighth grade when she went to work with her family on the farm. She was united in marriage to Marvin Portner on September 11, 1951, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in New Ulm. This union blessed the couple with a son and a daughter whom together they raised in New Ulm. Cyrilla started her working career sewing drapes at Herberger’s in New Ulm. After Marvin’s passing in 1971, she went to work at 3M until her retirement in 1992. Besides her work, there were a variety of hobbies Cyrilla enjoyed in life. Cyrilla was a gifted and talented quilter, and was able to hand-stitch quilts for her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren to appreciate for generations to come. Family was always important to Cyrilla. She enjoyed decorating and hosting holiday events, and family Sunday Suppers were always important to her. Cyrilla led her life independently, and kept her same resilient attitude toward life until the end. Cyrilla was proud and devout Catholic her entire life. She was a dedicated member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in New Ulm. Cyrilla was quite proud of her faith, but what brought her the most pride in her life was always her family. She was a dedicated mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, and enjoyed following all of her family’s events through life.