Dolores Piechowski

Public visitation for Dolores Piechowski will be held on Sunday, August 18, 2013 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. with a prayer service at 7:00 p.m. at St. Mary's Catholic Church, Beardsley. The funeral service will be held at St. Mary's Catholic Church on Monday, August 19, 2013 at 10:30 a.m. Visitation is also one hour prior to the funeral at the church. Interment will be at St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery, Beardsley.

Dolores Ann (Greteman) Piechowski was born September 12, 1938, in Graceville, MN to Leonard and Irene (Mueller) Greteman in Graceville, MN. She grew up on a farm south of Beardsley, MN. She was baptized, received her First Communion and was confirmed at St. Mary's Catholic Church, Beardsley, MN. She was a member of the first graduating class of the new Beardsley High School in 1956.

After graduation, she moved to the Twin Cities, MN to work. On August 24, 1957, she married John W. (Jack) O'Leary at St. Mary's Catholic Church, Beardsley. They welcomed 3 children to this union: Colleen, Kevin and Shawn. Jack died on September 14, 1968. Dolores was resilient and besides being a homemaker, returned to the job force and school; working in a bakery and attending secretarial school. She was later employed at 3M on the East side of St. Paul, MN. She married Richard V. (Dick) Piechowski on August 10, 1974 at St. Mary's Catholic Church, Beardsley and they resided on a farm north of Beardsley.

Along with her continued devotion to her family, she shared her many talents wherever she saw the need. She worked as an aide at the Beardsley Elementary School, served as a home health aide, and was most recently employed by Sue and Crew, LLC, and Mary Hansen Accounting. Dolores and Dick were Sacrists and Communion distributors at St. Mary's Catholic Church and also cared for the church and cemetery grounds. Dolores was a church lector and taught Religious Education. She was a long time member of the Daughters of Isabella, holding various offices and was president of Council of Catholic Women. Dick and Dolores both received the Bishop's Medal for their service to the church. She also provided organization and leadership to the Beardsley Alumni Association.

She enjoyed a long list of activities including her love to sew and quilt; so many were blessed by her talents and beautiful work, including the St. Mary's Catholic Church bazaar. Baking and cooking were at the top of her list for quality and quantity shared; angel food cakes, bread, bars and cookies along with many healthy main meals. She worked diligently on genealogy and mapping out multiple family trees and organizing the data. Dolores enjoyed traveling near and far to visit family and friends across the US and also toured Germany and Spain. She provided refuge and a resting place for families and friends that passed through St. Paul and Beardsley.

Dolores loved being a Grandma and Great-Grandma, caring about others, and providing care for numerous elders over the years. Dolores was in love with loving her family and being a good friend to many. She enjoyed great camaraderie with her friends in the Chicken Coop Group. She lived a life full of faith and hope. She prayed, was a positive role model, gave willingly and received much joy from being present with others. Her energy, spirit and love will be missed greatly by all who knew her.

Dolores died on Wednesday, August 14, 2013 at Kindred Hospital, Fargo, ND having reached the age of 74.

Survivors include her husband, Dick Piechowski, Beardsley; her children, Colleen Larson, Fargo, ND; Kevin (Sandy) O'Leary, Wheaton, MN; Shawn (Leah) O'Leary, Wahpeton, ND; her grandchildren, Kaja (Kory) Kaste, Connor Larson, Casey (Andrea) O'Leary, Molly (Craig Tangen) Lande, Corey (Trisha) O'Leary, Kellie (Blake) Buck; her great-grandchildren, Gracin, Nolan and Isla Kaste, Colin, Patrick and Michael O'Leary, Leighla Lande, and Will O'Leary; her sister, Darleen (Russ) Geyer, Superior, WI; her nephews and niece, Doug, Troy and Lori Geyer; her sisters-in-law, Mary (Sam) Ocel, Beverly (Charlie) Chalupnik, and Janice Piechowski; many cousins and extended family members.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Leonard and Irene Greteman; her husband, John (Jack) O'Leary; her father and mother-in-law, Vincent and Mary Piechowski; her brothers-in-law, Dennis (Jerry), Piechowski, Patrick Piechowski; and her sister-in-law, Jacqueline Piechowski.