Lucille M. Otten

Lucille Mildred Thielen was born on December 28, 1929 to John and Regina (Ferrie) Thielen in Elkton, South Dakota.  She grew up in Elkton, SD and attended school through the 12^th grade.  As a young woman, Lucille taught in a country school in rural Elkton. 

She was married to Bernard Frensko on September 1, 1948, from that union they had five children.  She and Bernard raised their family in Ivanhoe, MN and Ortonville, MN.  Bernard and Lucille then moved to Hebron, ND for new employment.  Bernard died unexpectedly at the age of 50.  Lucille then moved to Elkton, SD to care for her mother.  After the death of her mother, she moved back to Ortonville, MN to live near her daughter Deborah.  There she met and married Dale Myers.  They were married for five years when Dale passed away.  Lucille then moved to Harlowton, MT to live near her daughter Judith.  There she met and married Clifford Otten, but later divorced still remaining good friends.   

Lucille then moved to Duluth, MN to be closer to her daughter Deborah.  They spent five years there before relocating to Barnesville, MN in 2016, to be closer to grandchildren and great grandchildren.  For the past few years, she has been a resident at Oak Crossing Nursing Home in Detroit Lakes, MN, where she passed away on March 2, 2023, at the age of 93 years, under the care of Hospice of the Red River Valley. 

Throughout her life, Lucille worked in several ways including: farming, was a teachers aid in Ivanhoe, MN, she worked as a clerk in the Ben Franklin Store in Ortonville, MN, she worked in the lab of a cheese factory in Big Stone City, SD, and housekeeping in a hospital in Brookings, SD, and housekeeping in a nursing home in Ortonville, MN.  Lucille loved to read, working crossword puzzles and word searches, also playing games of Scrabble, Solitaire, Skip Bo. 

She is survived by her children James (Barb) Frensko of Waconia, MN, Judith (Tom) Morrison of Harlowton, MT, Deborah (Frensko) Goergen of Barnesville, MN, Steven Frensko of Hamburg, MN, and Jeffery Frensko of Dover, ARK, seven grandchildren, and ten great grandchildren. 

Lucille’s request was to be buried next to her husband Bernard in the Catholic Cemetery in Ivanhoe, MN.  A family graveside service to honor her life and inter her cremains will be held this summer.  May she rejoice in eternal happiness and may her memory be blessed.