Loretta Stoeber

LORETTA STOEBER was born to Frank and Mary (Rust) Carpenter on December 30, 1910 on a farm three miles north of Pipestone, Minnesota. When she was a year old, she moved with her parents to a farm near Ward, South Dakota where she was raised and attended country school. She then continued her education at the high school in Pipestone. After her graduation in 1929, she attended Nettleton Commercial College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota for three years. Upon completion of her education, she became employed as a secretary for business firms in Pipestone. On February 12, 1934, she was united in marriage to Lawrence H. Stoeber at St. Leo Catholic Church in Pipestone. Following their marriage, they lived in Pipestone and Loretta raised their two sons while working as the Pipestone County Assessor. When Lawrence bought the Barfknecht Tire and Battery Sporting Store and renamed the business Stoeber Marine, she became that firm’s employee until her retirement. She also worked for the Pipestone County Extension and taught various projects after supper in her home and in the extension office. When she and her husband retired, they spent their winters in Mesa, Arizona for 23 years. Lawrence preceded her in death on September 27, 2003. After his death, Loretta lived in Pipestone. In July of 2012, she moved into the Good Samaritan Communities of Pipestone where she lived until her death on Sunday, October 11, 2015 at the age of 104 years, 9 months and 12 days.

Loretta was an active member of St. Leo Catholic Church in Pipestone. She volunteered some of her time for Winifred Bartlett and the American Red Cross. She enjoyed playing the piano in her dad’s dance band which was known as Frank’s Whoopee Band.

She is lovingly remembered by her daughter-in-law, Dorothy Stoeber of Pipestone, Minnesota; her grandsons, Lance Stoeber and his friend Danette of Montevideo, Minnesota, Christopher Stoeber of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Matthew Stoeber and his wife Christine of Shakopee, Minnesota; two great-grandsons, Tristin and Blake Stoeber of Shakopee. She is preceded in death by her husband; two sons, Wayne and Dale; and her parents.