Selma Malecek, formerly of Dawson, died Tuesday June 16, 2015 at Sylvan Court in Canby, MN at the age of 81.
Funeral services will be held Monday, June 22, 2015 at 2:00 PM at Hanson & Dahl Funeral Home in Dawson with Rev. Janet Kettering officiating. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the funeral home. Interment will be in the Dawson Cemetery.
Selma Marie (Thurston) Malecek was born on August 28, 1933 in Olivia, MN the daughter of Charles and Jennie (Morse) Thurston. She was baptized and confirmed at Faith United Methodist Church in Olivia. She attended school in Olivia, MN. On November 28, 1950, Selma was united in marriage to Charles Malecek at the Methodist Church Parsonage in Olivia, MN. To this union a daughter and five sons were born. The family farmed in Sacred Heart and Gary SD as well as Canby and Madison. Selma raised the children and assisted in the farming with her husband. In 2003 they moved to Riverside Apartments in Dawson. After Charles’ death in 2006, Selma continued to live in Dawson until moving to Sylvan Court in Canby in 2011.
Besides being a mother and helping with the farm, she enjoyed gardening, Selma was a member of the VFW and the American Legion Auxiliary. Family was most important to her and she enjoyed the time she spent with her grandchildren and her great-grandchildren.
Selma is survived by her children: Cheryl (Norman) Mortenson of Canby, Jerome (Lisa) Malecek of Dawson, Richard (Sue) Malecek of Elk River, MN, Ronald (Colleen) Malecek of Rogers, Merle Malecek of Dawson, and Juel (Teri) Salveson of Finland, MN; a daughter-in-law, Vicki Malecek of Dawson; 17 grandchildren; 20 great-grandchildren; four sisters: Janette Negen of Olivia, MN, Mary (Lowell) Breems of Willmar, MN, Ruth Miller of Cross, SC, and Carol (Lyle) Lietzau of Burnsville, MN; one sister-in-law, Betty Thurston of Sauk Rapids, MN; and other relatives and friends.
Preceding her in death were her parents; her husband, Charles in 2006; a son, Loren; a sister, Donna Schubert; and brother, David Thurston.
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Hi everyone. My prayers are with you all on this sad day. We are all here to remember Selma Malecek. Our Mother, Sister, Aunt, Grandmother and friend. We have all known her for different amounts of time, and at different stages of her life. Although we grieve that our time with her has come to an end, I pray that we would experience also a flood of joy springing from our individual memories. Each of us holds priceless memories of our time and interactions with Selma, may they be a deep source of comfort for you at this time.
I would like to say a few words about the important part she has played in my life for the past 30 years.
Selma Malecek was, the absolute, quintessential grandma... Her family has been greatly blessed to have had her. She baked (whole kitchen tables worth at a time), she gardened (bringing in whole buckets full of produce at a time), she crafted with us, played games with us, smothered us with kisses and hugged us tightly, squeezing us into her soft, squishy, comforting grandma body.
While other kids my age growing up were going on trips out of state every summer holiday, I got to go somewhere far better…THE FARM! J My memory of grandma and the woman she was can be pretty much summed up by picturing that old farm in my head. As a grandchild, that place, along with grandma represented so much comfort, wonder, and love. Grandma created a beautiful feeling of ‘home’ at the farm. I can remember all the details that made up that place, which grandma no doubt took care in creating. The “been farming long” poster in the entryway; the “kiss the cook” wall hanging in the dining room, the stained glass ornaments in the windows, the many plants and cosy knitted blankets on the couch. It was a place you could feel completely at ease. There was always something to explore, and grandma never held us back from digging up treasure in the top rooms. However, most of all, I knew the farm was a place where I would be well loved and well looked after. Grandma would always scoop me up onto her lap and give the best hugs and kisses, I never wanted to leave.
While eventually moving out of that place, grandma took the comfort and love with her wherever she went. These things were present in their smaller dwellings by way of the MANY family photos on display, along with stacks of food in the pantry! You could always count on sweets even when grandma wasn’t well enough to bake them herself anymore ;) I don’t even know WHERE she kept them at the nursing home… but somehow they were always one of the first things on offer whenever we visited! This suited me fine, as she always remembered that we shared a soft spot for mint chocolates J
Of all my treasured memories of grandma, the most bittersweet of them all is when she would say to me, “You’re TOO far away! When are you coming home?!” Grandma was so cheeky, it was one of her most endearing qualities. I knew she never meant those words in a harsh way, mostly from the glint in her eye as she said them, forever the joker, she loved to give me (and I’m sure everyone else) a hard time. However I’m certain this was just yet another, expression of her love. It was no question that she treasured having her family and friends close. Grandma lit up every time we came to visit, and it was so hard every time to say goodbye. To my last visit, her hugs always remained strong, squishy and full of love. I will miss her dearly, think of her often, and by the grace of God- one day become half the grandma that she was to me.
There is one central thread in my memory of grandma and that is love. Although hers was unspoken for many years, undeniably my experience confirms that the love was there all along. As we grieve, may we dwell on love, and the memories of Selma Malecek in which it is represented.
I would like to close with a verse from the Bible…
1 Corinthians 16:14
Let all that you do be done in love.
*remind them to hug! Haha*