Thief River Falls – Lorraine Mathieu, 82, of Thief River Falls, passed away on Tuesday, December 20, 2022 at her residence.
Lorraine Emily Rux was born July 1, 1940 at Mercy Hospital in Thief River Falls, the daughter of Emil M. and Mildred (Whitson) Rux. She was baptized on September 22, 1940 and confirmed June 6, 1954 at Zion Lutheran Church in Thief River Falls.
On July 20, 1958 Lorraine was united in marriage to William “Bill” Mathieu at Zion Lutheran Church. The couple made their home in Mahnomen for a short time before settling in Thief River Falls. To this union four children were born, Cindy, Mitch, Jay and Brenda.
Lorraine loved her time at home caring for their children when they were growing and also was the bookkeeper for the family business, Bill’s Service. In the mid-1980s, Lorraine went to work as the cook/teacher’s aide for the Head Start Program in Thief River Falls until her retirement. Bill passed away in 2007 and Lorraine continued to work for a couple more years.
She enjoyed camping, road trips, needle point, word search, watching Heartland, Yellowstone and her soaps, and especially spending time with her family and neighbor, Gloria Lee.
Lorraine was a member of Zion Lutheran Church, Thief River Falls Lioness Club and a lifetime member of the VFW Post 2793 in Thief River Falls.
Survivors include children, Cindy (Keith) Swanson, Mitch Mathieu, and Jay (Lila) Mathieu, all of Thief River Falls, and Brenda (Steve) Haats of Warroad; grandchildren, Kristen (Josh) Granly, Meghan Semrud, Ryan (Amy) Semrud, CharLee Mathieu, Guthrey (Abby Thorpe) Mathieu, Kory (Kali) Haats, Stephanie (Dylan) Frisch; great-grandchildren, Alex, Tony, Avery, Nevaeh, Skyler, Vincent, Chase, Ava, Violet, Ryder, Charlotte, Greta, and Hayes; brother, Jerald “Jerry” (Bev) Rux of Strandquist; brothers-in-law, Jim Halvorson of Karlstad, Donnie (Penny) Mathieu of Arizona, Allen (Suzie) Mathieu of St. Louis, MO, and Dave (Stella) Mathieu of Lakeville; sister-in-law, Lori Mathieu of Colorado; and many other relatives and friends.
Lorraine is preceded in death by her husband, Bill; parents; father- and mother-in-law, Milton and Arneida Mathieu; sister, Eleanor Halvorson; brothers-in-law, Bruce Carlson, Ronnie Mathieu and Ken Mathieu; and nephew, Steven Carlson.
Visitation will be held from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. with a 7 p.m. Prayer Service on Wednesday, December 28, 2022 at Johnson Funeral Service in Thief River Falls, and one hour prior to the service.
The service to celebrate Lorraine’s life will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, December 29, 2022 at Zion Lutheran Church in Thief River Falls, with Rev. Mark Helgeland officiating. Burial will be at Greenwood Cemetery in Thief River Falls.
Condolences may be sent at www.johnsonfuneralservice.com.
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