Yvonne Corey

Yvonne A. Corey, age 81, of Willmar, died Thursday morning, December 12, at Bethesda Pleasantview Nursing Home in Willmar.

Services will be 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, December 16, at the Assembly of God Church in Willmar. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the church. Interment will be at Cloverleaf Memorial Park Cemetery in Willmar. Arrangements are with Peterson Brothers Funeral Home in Willmar (www.petersonbrothers.com).

Yvonne Arlien (Benson) Corey was born on June 22, 1933 in Sacred Heart, Minnesota, the daughter of Alert and Josephine (Bergquist) Benson. She grew up and received her education in the Sacred Heart and Granite Falls areas, graduating from Granite High School in 1951. She continued her education at North Central Bible College in Minneapolis. She was married to Gene Corey in 1951 and they made their home in Minneapolis until 1957. Yvonne moved to Granite Falls and in 1967, she moved to Willmar where she completed her Secretarial Degree at Willmar Vo-Tech. She worked for a time at Molenaar Plastics in Willmar and later for New London Concrete Products in New London. She was very active in her community, serving as chairperson of the West Central Area Council for the Handicapped and member of the Board of Directors of West Central Industries. She also volunteered for the Kandiyohi County "504" Study and at Bethesda Homes. She was a recipient of many awards, including Miss Congeniality in the Minnesota Miss Wheelchair in 1978, Kandiyohi County Outstanding Handicapped Person of the Year Award in 1979, and the WCCO Good Neighbor Award and Rose and Jay Phillips Award in 1982. In 2005, Yvonne moved to Bethesda Pleasantview, where she has lived since. She enjoyed cooking, sewing and almost any type of craftwork. She loved being with family and friends, especially her grandchildren who were the light of her life. Yvonne had a strong faith and loved sharing it with those she met.

She is survived by a son, Steven (and Julie) Corey of Miami, FL; a daughter, Michelle Corey (and Bob Powers) of Big Lake, MN; three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Also surviving are two sisters, Sadie Gillings of Albuquerque, NM, and Gloria (and Gary) Siegfried of Willmar; besides other relatives and friends.

Yvonne was preceded in death by her parents; a grandson, Kyle Ryks; and a sister, Junette Anderson.

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