Obituary of Lydia Alina Westerberg

A celebration of life gathering for Lydia Westerberg will take place at Oak Knoll Lutheran Church, 600 Hopkins Crossroad, Minnetonka, Minnesota on Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2016 at 11 a.m. Visitation is at the church one hour prior to the service. Burial will follow lunch at Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis. Lydia Alina Westerberg was born January 29, 1925 to Andrew and Ida (Hiltunen) Kako in Becker County, Minnesota. She was united in marriage to Lloyd W. Westerberg on Aug. 9, 1946. They established their first home in Wolf Lake, Minnesota, where they owned and operated the West Side Grocery store, and welcomed their first two children, Wallace and Patricia, to their family. In 1951, they moved to St. Louis Park, Minnesota, where Marilyn was born, and in 1957 they moved to their home in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, where they lived for 32 years. Lydia worked for Target in Crystal for 25 years as a pharmacy technician, a job she enjoyed very much. After retirement, Lloyd and Lydia moved to a condo in Plymouth, and spent their winters in Arizona. They moved to another condo in Rogers, where Lloyd passed away in October, 2002. Lloyd and Lydia loved to travel together, visiting Europe, Scandinavia, and most of the states. Attending Lloyd's World War II army reunions became a very important part of their travels. One of their trips to Europe included re-visiting places where Lloyd had served, with some of the guys he had served with. They were also able to locate some of their family and visit the places in Norway and in Finland that their families had come from. They attended as many of their grandchildrens events as they were able to; they were extremely proud of them! Time spent with family was their priority. While in Arizona, Lydia took up painting, and her family has many of the beautiful paintings she created while there. After Lloyd's death, Lydia moved to WestRidge Senior Living in Minnetonka, where she made many new friends, enjoying the many activities. She also loved being a member and worshipping at Oak Knoll Lutheran Church, right across the street. In 2012, Lydia moved to Jackson, Minnesota to be near her daughter Marilyn. She later moved to a memory care facility in Spirit Lake, Iowa, and finally, the nursing home in Spirit Lake. In her last days there, she was very content and peaceful, smiling most of the time. We're very grateful to all those who cared for her there, and the loving home they provided for her. Lydia passed away in her sleep at Hawkeye Care Center in Spirit Lake on Thursday, Feb. 18. Preceding Lydia in death were her husband of 56 years, Lloyd Westerberg; her sisters Mayme Beckala, Jennie Hilluka, Hilda Hendrickson; and brothers Edwin Kako, Donald Kako, and Waino Kako, as well as two infant siblings, Emil and Anna. She is survived by her children, Wallace (Mary Bergeron) Westerberg of Clearwater, Minnesota, and their children Benjamin Westerberg (Misty Rinkenberger) of Minneapolis and Emelia Westerberg (Michael DeFrancesco) of Chicago, Illinois; Patricia (Ronald) Weitnauer of Everson, Washington and their children Andrew (Heather) Weitnauer of Minneapolis, and Marit Weitnauer (Kyle Snell, fiancé) of New York City, New York; and Marilyn (Harold) Knutson of Jackson, Minnesota, and their children Nathan (Alyssa) Knutson of Cable, Wisconsin and Kristina (Forrest Roy) Johnson of Estherville, Iowa; and two great-grandchildren, born in 2015, Garrett Knutson and Lydia Johnson. She is also survived by sister-in-laws, Doris Harvala of Park Rapids, Minnesota, Ruth Kako of Buffalo, Minnesota, Evelyn Kako of Park Rapids, Minnesota, and Inga Westerberg of Minneapolis. Blessed be the memory of Lydia Alina Westerberg.