MOORHEAD, Minn. — Winnifred “Winnie” H. Papenfuss, 100, passed away April 17, 2016, at Eventide Lutheran Home in Moorhead. She was born April 25, 1915, to Roy and Elsie (Parpart) Greenwood of Pickwick, Minn. She attended school through the eighth grade and completed one year of business school training. As a young girl, she worked a variety of jobs as a housekeeper, picking strawberries, and doing piece work at the Winona Knitting Mills. She met Howard Papenfuss at a “kittenball” game, and they were married April 22, 1939. They resided in La Crescent, Minn., where Howard worked as a bulk oil agent for Standard Oil and Winnie helped by taking delivery orders and with the bookkeeping. She is survived by three sons, Richard “Dick” (Mary) Santa Fe, N.M., Lyle “Slats” (Lise) Lake City, Minn., and Larry (Dawn) Moorhead; a sister, Ruth Harvey, La Crosse, Wis.; as well as, numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews. At a young age Winnie taught herself to play piano and would enjoy music for the rest of her life. She played piano for barn dances and organ for her church in Pickwick. She and Howard were charter members of First Evangelical Lutheran Church in La Crescent, where she served as organist, was a member of the Ladies Aid, and sang in the choir. She continued to enjoy playing the piano until just weeks before her death. Winnie was a gardener, growing vegetables for freezing and canning: pickles, tomatoes, sauerkraut, pears and strawberry jam. She was an excellent cook, baking homemade breads, making soups, hot dishes, and apple pies that won awards at the annual apple festival. An avid craft person, her nights were spent knitting, crocheting, cross stitching, and sewing. She loved fishing, bowling, and traveling, but most of all playing cards. She played cards every chance she had with friends, relatives, and grandchildren: 500, canasta, euchre, spades, and bridge, and when no one was around, solitaire. Winnie seldom missed a baseball game of any of her three sons and there were a lot of them: Little League, Legion, high school, college and Town Team! She was always our biggest fan. Winnie was active in her community, volunteering at the school, serving on the legion auxiliary (she was a Gold Star Sister), delivering Meals on Wheels, and as an
election volunteer. When Howard passed away in 1994, she moved into a townhouse in La Crescent, where she lived until 2011, when she moved to Eventide Lutheran Home in Moorhead. Among the factors that contributed to her longevity was an attitude of contentment and gratitude, which helped her adapt to her circumstances even as she became less independent. Shortly before she died she commented, “I’ve been a lucky girl to have had such a good life.” An evening prayer service will be held in her memory at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 26, at St. John Lutheran Church in Fargo, N.D. Friends may call prior to the service beginning at 5:30 p.m. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 7, at First Evangelical Lutheran Church in La Crescent, Minn. Friends may call prior to the service beginning at 10 a.m.