Louise Mae Thoma

Louise Mae Thoma (Hausotter), 91, died Thursday, May 15, at Bethesda Grand in Willmar.

Visitation will begin at 10 a.m. followed by the Funeral Mass at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, May 28, at the Church of St. Mary in Willmar.  Interment will be in the church cemetery.  Arrangements are entrusted to Peterson Brothers Funeral Home.  www.petersonbrothers.com

Louise was born Oct. 30, 1933, in Minneapolis to Edward and Rose (Zoch) Hausotter.  She graduated from Minneapolis West High School and from the University of Minnesota. She married Ben Thoma on June 15, 1957, in Minneapolis and taught Home-Ec in Caledonia, leaving the job after the birth of her first son in 1958.

She and Ben settled in the Willmar area in 1963, when Ben became one of the original faculty at what is now Ridgewater College, where he taught biology for 35 years. They summered annually at Itasca State Park, where Ben was the seasonal naturalist for 46 years. They built a house north of Willmar in the early 1970s and lived there until Ben's failing health prompted them to sell the property in 2009. Ben died in 2011.

Louise devoted herself to Ben and raising her three sons; after the sons flew the nest, she was quite active in volunteer work and at St. Mary's Catholic Church. Her faith, and the St, Mary's community, meant a great deal to her.

Louise is survived by her sons, Edward (and Linda Vanderwerf) of Mankato; William (and Janet) of Pleasanton, Calif.; and David (and Brenda) of Annandale, and by two grandchildren, as well as her sister Rosemary of Minneapolis.