Lorraine Niemela

1929 – 2021

Lorraine Dorothy Niemela, age 92, formerly of Menahga, MN, passed away on Friday, August 20, 2021 at The Legacy of St. Anthony Assisted Living in St. Anthony Village, MN.

Lorraine was born on February 17, 1929 in Menahga, MN, the tenth child of Andrew and Selma (Ohlgren) Niemela.

She was preceded in death by her parents; sibings, Stella Ollila in 2008, Senia Niemela in 2002, Sylvia Johnson in 1988, Ida Bimberg in 1967, Agnes Bimberg in 2006, Rose Taylor in 2019, Victor Niemela in 1999, Mabel Ronan in 2012, Elsie Henry in 2008 and Eleanor Beachy in 2015. She is survived by her many nieces and nephews and their families.

She was a graduate of Menahga High School in 1946. Lorraine joined the Mennonite Church in her youth and began working for the Northern Light Gospel Mission based in Red Lake, Ontario Canada in the 1950s. She returned to Menahga after her father’s death in 1963. Lorraine and her sister, Rose, moved to Downey, CA where another sister, Eleanor, and family lived. Lorraine and Rose entered nurses training at Long Beach City College, both earning their LPN certifications in 1967. They moved to St. Paul, MN that same year and began their careers at St. Paul Ramsey Hospital, which eventually became Regions Hospital. Lorraine retired on December 31, 1991 at age 62.

A memorial service was held on September 10, 2021 at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, MN, followed by a private family interment on Saturday, September 11th at the Menahga City Cemetery, Menahga, MN.

Lorraine was grounded in her Finnish heritage and enjoyed a lifelong love of picking blueberries with her family and friends.