Betty Gahler

Betty Gahler, age 86 of Gaylord passed away Sunday, January 31, 2021 at her residence in Gaylord. Funeral services will be 2:00 p.m. Friday, February 5^th at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Gaylord with visitation at the church from Noon until service time Friday. Interment will follow in the church cemetery. Routine Covid-19 guidelines will be observed including masking, social distancing and limited seating available at the funeral. Kolden Funeral Home of Arlington is handling the arrangements.

Betty Mae Buswell Gahler was born to Con and Alma (Woodcock) Buswell on May 26, 1934 in her family home, rural Sheldon, Rusk County, Wisconsin. Betty attended school in Holcombe, WI and earned her high school diploma in 1952. Betty married Earl Tollefson on December 27, 1952 and together they had five children. In 1963 Betty and the children moved to Butterfield, MN. Betty and her sister Frances owned and operated the Highway 60 Cafe in Butterfield where she met Herbert Gahler. On April 29, 1967 Betty married Herbert and they moved their family to Gaylord, MN in July 1967. Betty and Herbert had one child together. Betty worked at Rays Rec in Gaylord as a cook/waitress before taking factory jobs at Fingerhut, Hands Inc., Big Stone canning company and Young America Corporation before retiring in 2007. Her spare time was spent spending holidays with her entire family, cooking everyone’s favorite dishes, shopping, and soap operas.

Betty is survived by her children; Monica Geisdorf, Darrell (Connie) Tollefson, Janet Frauendienst, Cheryl Wallace, Pamela (Scott) Abrams, 31 grandchildren, 73 great grandchildren, and 10 great great grandchildren, many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Betty was preceded in death by her parents, husband Herbert Gahler, daughter Deborah Sullivan, grandsons Cory Tollefson and Ed Wurtzberger, her in-laws Herman and Laura Gahler, great grandson Caiden Smith and great granddaughter Saylor Raftevold, sister Frances Hanson, brother Arthur Buswell, brothers-in-law Leonard Hanson, Alfred Risto, Elmer Tiegs, and Wilbert Gahler, sisters-in-law Ethel Buswell and Carol Gahler, sons-in-law Steven Olson and Michael Callais, nephews Eugene Hanson, Matthew Gahler, and Jim Ouradnik, nieces Roxanne Ouradnik and Janet Hanson.

Casket bearers for the funeral are: Shawn Olson, Robert Tollefson, Tadd Frauendienst, Travis Brockoff, Jason Tostenson, and Dillon Smith.

Honorary casketbearers are: Cory Tollefson, Steven Olson, Michael Callais, Scott Abrams, and Arvin Latchman

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