Virginia Nyblom, 75, of New Prague, was a strong woman who loved life and especially her family. She entered the Lord’s arms Wednesday, March 17, 2010.

A celebration of her life will be 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 27, 2010 at St. John Lutheran Church in Belle Plaine. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the church.

Arrangements provided by Kolden Funeral Home of Belle Plaine, 952-873-6227.

The following obituaries are from the March 18, 2010 print edition of the JOrdan Independent newspaper:

Apollonia M. Gerold, 87, of Shakopee died Monday, March 15, 2010 at The Gardens at St. Gertrude's Health Center, Shakopee.

Visitation is Thursday, March 18, from 4-8 p.m. and Friday, March 19, from 9-10 a.m. at the McNearney Funeral Home, Shakopee. There will be a St. Mark's Council of Catholic Women and Knights of Columbus Ladies Auxiliary Rosary at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.

Mass of Christian Burial is Friday, March 19, at 10:30 a.m. at St. Mark's Catholic Church, Shakopee. Interment is in the Catholic Cemetery, Shakopee.

Complete obituary will appear next week.

Lori Carlson or the Prior Lake American reports:

A Haitian pastor who worked closely with Prior Lake church missionaries was killed March 12 by burglars in his Port-au-Prince-area home.

The Rev. Doris Jean Louis was shot during a confrontation with two men who had entered his home. He and his wife had returned home from doing mission work and found the intruders in their house, demanding tuition money from the schools they helped to run, said Rev. Robert Nowak, pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church.

Elroy Huebner, 67, of Jordan, passed away Saturday, March 13, 2010 at his home.

Visitation will be held Thursday, March 18, from 4-8 p.m. at Ballard-Sunder Funeral Home, Jordan, and also one hour prior to the service at church on Friday.

Mass of Christian Burial will be Friday, March 19, at 11 a.m. at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Jordan.

Arrangements made by Ballard-Sunder Funeral Home, Jordan Chapel. www.ballardsunderfuneral.com

Margaret Bushaw, 91, of St. Paul, passed away peacefully Thursday, March 11, 2010 at Woodbury Nursing Home in Woodbury, MN. Among others, she is survived by her son, the Rev. Robert (Karen) Bushaw of Jordan.

Celebration of Life Service will be Tuesday, March 16, at 11 a.m. at St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church, 765 Margaret Street, St. Paul, with visitation one hour prior to the service.

Arrangements made by Ballard-Sunder Funeral Home, Jordan Chapel. www.ballardsunderfuneral.com

The following obituaries are from the March 11, 2010 print edition of the Jordan Independent newspaper:

Edward Thomas Bartyzal

 Edward "Punky" Bartyzal, 72, of Corpus Christi, TX and formerly of New Prague, died Sunday, March 7, 2010 at his home in Corpus Christi.

Arrangements are pending and will be posted at jordannews.com as soon as they become available.

A complete obituary will appear in a future print edition of the Jordan Independent.

Eugene “Gene” O’ Keefe

Gene O’Keefe, 84, of Prior Lake, entered God’s arms peacefully March 6, 2010 at his home.

Visitation will be Tuesday, March 9, from 4-8 p.m. at Ballard-Sunder Funeral Home, 4565 Pleasant St. S.E., Prior Lake, and also one hour prior to the Mass at church.

Mass of Christian Burial will be Wednesday, March 10, at 11 a.m. at the Church of St. Michael, 16311 Duluth Ave. S.E., Prior Lake.

Arrangements made by Ballard-Sunder Funeral Home, Prior Lake Chapel www.ballardsunderfuneral.com

The following obituaries are from the March 4, 2010 print edition of the Jordan Independent newspaper:

Chuck Alley, 67, of Shakopee, formerly of Bloomington, passed away unexpectedly Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010 at Fairview University Medical Center Mesabi in Hibbing.

Celebration of Life Service will be Saturday, March 6, at noon, with visitation two hours prior to the service, all at Ballard-Sunder Funeral Home, 833 S. Marschall Rd., Shakopee.

Arrangements made by Ballard-Sunder Funeral Home, Shakopee Chapel. www.ballardsunderfuneral.com