Mildred Evelyn Rosenhammer, age 83 of Sleepy Eye, died at home surrounded by her family on June 8, 2023. A visitation will be held on Monday, June 12th from 4:00 to 7:00PM at Sturm Funeral Home, Sleepy Eye, with parish prayers at 4:00 PM. The visitation will continue on Tuesday from 9:00 to 10:30 at the North entrance of St. Mary’s Catholic Church. Mass of Christian Burial will be Tuesday, June 13th at 10:30AM at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. The clergy will be Fr. Mark Steffl. Interment will be at St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery in Sleepy Eye. The service will be livestreamed at https://www.facebook.com/stmarysleepyeye/live. Sturm Funeral Home, Sleepy Eye Chapel is assisting the family with arrangements. Online condolences may be left for the family at www.sturmfh.com.
Mildred Evelyn Seidl was born October 20th, 1939, to Leonard and Leona (Sellner) Seidl. The second of eleven children, she was often referred to ‘her father’s right hand’ because of her love for the outdoors and farm life. Through her involvement in 4-H, she mastered her cooking, baking, and sewing skills. In 1957 Mildred graduated from St. Mary’s High School. On May 9th, 1959, Mildred was united in marriage to Dennis Rosenhammer. This began their 64 years of marriage which was spent entirely on the same family farm. Given a few dairy cows by each of their parents was the beginning of their dairy herd which grew steadily. Mildred was the perfect farmer’s wife as she always enjoyed milking cows, feeding calves, driving tractor, and keeping the farm tidy. Mildred often started milking when Dennis would still be out in the field. She assisted with milking for over 55 years, and always with a smile!
The little spare time Mildred had was spent helping others. When St. Mary’s needed caramel rolls or other food prepared for brunches or festivals — Mildred was there. When her children were in grade school and needed a room mother or chaperone — Mildred was there. Sunday was always a special day to go to Mass. Shortly after the Schoenstatt sisters moved to Sleepy Eye, Mildred became part of a “Mothers’ Group” that has met monthly for nearly 30 years!
Years of hard work added up and her body told her to slow down. When she could no longer physically do the milking, she transitioned to moving cows, driving the gator to check on progress outside, and mowing lawn. Given an iPad for Christmas, Mildred took pictures daily of whatever was going on. She wanted pictures of planting, harvesting, making hay, and whatever projects were happening at the farm. She used these pictures to keep her daughter from Chatfield in the loop. A camera was placed in the calving pen that Mildred checked religiously. Often, she would notice a cow giving birth and notify one of her sons – even if it was the early hours of the morning.
Other hobbies included putting together difficult puzzles, caring for her beautiful roses, making her prized strawberry Jell-O, and the best sauerkraut and dumplings. Mildred was a dedicated farm wife, and mother whose faith was the foundation of her life.
Mildred is survived by her husband of 64 years, Dennis Rosenhammer of Sleepy Eye; son, John (Patty) Rosenhammer of Sleepy Eye and their children, Joe (Katie) Rosenhammer (children, Preston, Emmett, and Henry), Laura (Chris) Scholtz (children, Morgan and Mya), Mary Grace (Kyle) Fischer (children, Ava and Gracin), Rebecca (Chad) U’Ren, and Johnny Rosenhammer; daughter, Marcia (Dan) Schindler of Chatfield and their child, Drew Schindler; son, Greg Rosenhammer (fiancée Cali Brekke) of Godahl; and other loving relatives and friends.
Mildred was preceded in death by her parents, Leonard and Leona Seidl; brother, Mike Seidl; parents-in-law, John J. and Mathilda Rosenhammer; brothers-in-law, Stanley Bauer, Larry Bauer, Patrick Rosenhammer, and Leander Rosenhammer; and sister-in-law, Angela Rosenhammer.