Monica F. Hertling, age 100, of Sleepy Eye, Minnesota died on April 21, 2024, at her home in Sleepy Eye surrounded by her family. Visitation will be on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, from 4:00 pm until 7:00 pm at Sturm Funeral Home, Sleepy Eye Chapel. Rosary will be prayed at 3:30 pm followed by Parish Prayers at 3:45 pm prior to visitation. Visitation will continue on Thursday from 8:00 am until 10:00 am at the funeral home. Funeral Mass will be held at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Sleepy Eye on Thursday, May 2, 2024, at 10:30 am and will be livestreamed at https://www.facebook.com/stmarysleepyeye. The clergy will be Fr. Mark Steffl. Interment will be at St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery in Sleepy Eye. Arrangements are with Sturm Funeral Home in Sleepy Eye. Online condolences may be left for the family at www.sturmfh.com.
Monica Flora (Steffl) Hertling, the daughter of John and Alma (Hartneck) Steffl, was born on February 15, 1924, in Sleepy Eye, Minnesota. As a young girl, she attended country school and in 1942, she graduated from St. Mary’s Catholic School. On June 25, 1946, Monica married the love of her life, Sylvester Hertling, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Sleepy Eye. This marriage was blessed with ten children.
Working hard came naturally to Monica. While raising her family and working on the farm with Sylvester, Monica enjoyed gardening and canning produce. She loved to bake and in 1992, she won Grand Champion for her apple pie at the Brown County Fair. Monica loved her family and was truly the most loving, nurturing, and caring mom, grandma, and great-grandma. She was proud of her children and having had three of her sons serve in the military. Family always came first for Monica.
Monica found much comfort and strength in her Catholic faith, and it was important to her to have all of her children attend St. Mary’s Catholic School for their education. Monica was a longtime member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church and actively participated in the Council of Catholic Women, Christian Mothers, and Minnesota Concerned Citizens for Life. Additionally, she was a member of Divine Providence Auxiliary and VFW Auxiliary Post 800 in Sleepy Eye.
In her younger days, Monica enjoyed bowling. Throughout her life, she loved to play cards with family and friends, often initiating and never turning down an opportunity to do so, in addition to her standing Tuesday group she joined at the Sleepy Eye Community Center. Her day wasn’t complete without a whiskey sour in the evening. Monica was blessed to attend her 80th class reunion in 2022 and she celebrated her 100th birthday with her beloved family and friends.
Monica is survived by her children, Allan (Suzanne) Hertling of Aubrey, TX, Douglas (Barbara) Hertling of St. Cloud, Robert Hertling (Jane Walsh) of New Ulm, Laurie (Robert) Seifert of New Ulm, Cindy (Vern) Haala of Sleepy Eye, Steve (Rita) Hertling of Sleepy Eye, David (Lisa) Hertling of Sleepy Eye, Ronald Hertling of New Ulm, and John (Deb) Hertling of New Ulm; 20 grandchildren; 33 great-grandchildren; and brother, Jerome Steffl of Sleepy Eye.
She was preceded in death by her parents, John and Alma Steffl; husband, Sylvester Hertling; son, Thomas Hertling; grandson, Danny Hertling; brothers, Cornelius Steffl, Leslie Steffl, John Steffl, Louis Steffl, and Paul Steffl; and sisters, Phyllis Garry, Beatrice Ganske, and Bernice Zschetzsche.
