LaVerna "Pauline" Erkel

LaVerna “Pauline” Erkel passed away peacefully, at her home, with her children by her side on her 91st birthday on Tuesday, November 22nd, 2022. 

Funeral Mass will be at 11:00 am on Saturday, December 17th at the Church of St. Peter in St. Peter, MN with burial at Calvary Cemetery in Mankato, MN.  Visitation will be from 4:00 – 7:00pm on Friday, December 16th at the church with a prayer service and sharing of memories at 6:30pm.  Visitation will continue one hour prior to the service on Saturday. To view the livestream or leave a condolence for the family, visit her obituary at www.saintpeterfuneralhome.com.

Pauline was born November 22, 1931 in Titusville, Pennsylvania to Wallace and Wilma (Butler) Taylor.  She moved to Mankato at age 16 and attended St. Peter and Paul’s School.  She was united in marriage to Gordon Ambrose Erkel on February 16th, 1957 at St. Peter and Paul’s Catholic Church.

Pauline was a life-long folklore naturalist and forager who loved animals, had a passion for fishing and was an extraordinary marksman.  She enjoyed volunteering at local food distributions and at the St. Peter State Hospital, making homemade jams and jellies and cooking buckwheat pancakes for all of her ‘kids’.  She gave back to her community as a Campfire Girls leader, a 4-H leader and a Catechism teacher.  She also embraced her Native American heritage by making leather bags and fancy dance shawls.  She acquired her Seneca Iroquois name - Ha yah gwus (Berry Picker) during the Midwinter Ceremonies of the Eastern Woodland Peoples of Washington state.

Left to carry on her legacy are her children Gordon “Bruce” (Cindy) Erkel and Paula “Maria” Bell.  Loved beyond any doubt are her grandchildren Ruth Anne Bell (Kevin Scales), Jedidiah Bruce Bell and Jacob Gordon (Jordyn) Erkel.

She is survived by her children and grandchildren, her Sister-In-Law and long-time friend Bernice (Cub) Taylor, Sister Janice (Carl) Harms of Virginia and Brother Lawrence (Linda) Rausch of Nebraska and many nieces and nephews.

She was proceeded in death by her parents, her husband, her sisters Josie, Gladys, Sadie, her brothers Wallace “Cub”, Fred, Dick, Frank, James, Lloyd, and 1 infant sister and 3 infant brothers.

The live stream link below is a complimentary service provided by Mankato Area Funeral Homes.

Unforeseen technical, internet, facility, and/or acoustical circumstances may produce a diminished end product. Please note, if the live stream does not appear, we are attempting to record and publish the service for later viewing.