All Obituaries

  La Verne A. Martinson, age 86, of Winona, passed away on Wednesday, September 23, 2020, at the Gundersen Health System Hospital in La Crosse. La Verne was born on June 13, 1934, in Galesville, WI, to Lawrence and Esther (Bergerson) Martinson, and he honorably served his country with the United States Air Force from 1953 to 1957.  La Verne married Joy Bowser, and they later divorced.  On October 3, 1981, he married Renay (Marsh) Dettinger in Winona.  He was previously...

  George A. “Poozle” Pozanc, age 88, of Pine Island/Winona, passed away on Monday, September 14, 2020, at the Pine Haven Care Center in Pine Island, MN. He was born on July 23, 1932, in Winona, to John Sr. and Theresa (Verdick) Pozanc.  He married Carole Armitage on September 8, 1962, and she preceded him in death on October 5, 1997. George worked in excavating, construction, bartending, delivery services and as a futcher (fish butcher).   George was a life-long...

  Michael Cochenour, age 68, of Winona, passed away on Saturday, September 12, 2020, at the Gundersen Health System Hospital in La Crosse. Visitation will be held from 6 PM until 8 PM on Saturday, September 19, 2020, at the Watkowski-Mulyck Funeral Home - 376 East Sarnia Street in Winona - where a prayer service will be held at 7:45 PM.  Those attending are required to wear a mask, and to follow social distancing guidelines.      

  Robert J. Pruka, age 86, of Winona, passed away on Thursday, September 10, 2020, at Winona Health. Bob was born on June 21, 1934, in Winona, to Stanley and Lillian (Kelly) Pruka, Sr. He was united in marriage with Beverly Albrecht on June 8, 1957, in Stockton, MN, and she preceded him in death on March 30, 2018. He was employed with the Watkins Research Farm in the 60s and 70s (a job he truly loved as he was a farmer at heart), and later with RTP in Winona where he worked until his...

  Marlene Ruth (Pflughoeft) Bender, age 85, of Winona, passed away Wednesday, September 9, 2020 at Lake Winona Manor.  Marlene was born June 28, 1935 to Arthur and Katherine (Martin) Pflughoeft of Winona.  She married Donald J. Bender, Sept. 25, 1954.  They now can be together again to celebrate what would've been 66 years of marriage. Marlene is survived by her son: Robert (Robin) Bender; daughters: Kate (Dennis) Hengel and Karen (Daniel) Paszkiewicz; seven...

  Tom R. Stephens, 70, a lifelong resident of Winona, MN, died peacefully at Benedictine - St. Anne on September 6, 2020. He was born on July 29, 1950 to Robert and Margaret (Dolly) Stephens. Tom was a twin to Sara. Growing up they managed to get into a fair amount of mischief, and what one didn’t think of the other one did. Tom had a generous heart, made friends easily, and loved to laugh and make others laugh. The nieces and nephews loved Tom, especially when they were...

  Johanna Elizabeth (Theisen) Przybylski, age 84, of Rollingstone, MN, passed away on Wednesday, September 2, 2020, at Benedictine St. Anne in Winona. Johanna (Jo) was born on June 27, 1936 to George and Elizabeth (Baecker) Theisen in rural Independence (Strum), Wisconsin.  She attended St. Aloysius Catholic School and worked at St. Joseph Hospital in Arcadia, Wisconsin until she graduated from Arcadia High School in 1955.  Jo married Ervin Przybylski on November 30, 1957....

  John Frank Springer, 73, died on Monday, August 31, 2020 peacefully at his home in Winona, MN.  John was born July 3, 1947, to Roman and Rose (Kozlowski) Springer. John graduated from Cotter High School in Winona and in 1965 married the love of his life Joyce Schreiber. John was a professional machinist and over his career worked for Peerless Chain, Northwest Airlines, and most recently Mactech in Red Wing, MN. John loved spending time with his wife, children,...

  On Friday, August 28, 2020, Joseph (Joe) Stanley Benusa passed away peacefully while in the care of hospice at Benedictine St. Anne in Winona, surrounded by his loving family.  He was 86 years old. He was born on April 7, 1934, in Waumandee, Wisconsin, to Steve and Pelchie (Palkowski) Benusa.  He married the love of his life, Dolores Reuter, at St. Boniface Catholic Church in Waumandee.  Between the two of them, they raised five children. Joe had a big heart, and he...

  Betty J. Schneider, 93, a lifelong resident of Winona, MN died peacefully on Tuesday, August 25, 2020. She was born October 13, 1926, an only child, to John (Jack) and Laura Zywicki. She attended grade school and high school in Winona and Mount Mary College. She married Bill Schneider on September 23, 1946 at St. Stanislaus Kostka Church in Winona. Betty was a homemaker who raised 6 children but also worked at Margie’s Dairy Cottage and Zywicki Invesment Co., her...