Grace E. Giesen

Grace Elaine (Christensen) Giesen, age75, of Cassville, passed away Friday, March 12, 2010 at her home surrounded by her loving family.

She was born April 19, 1934 in Beetown, the daughter of Neal and Cecelia (Wade) Christensen. Grace graduated from Lancaster High School in 1952. She married the love of her life, Thomas P. Giesen, on February 15, 1960. She and Tom farmed outside Cassville and between his, mine and ours she mothered eleven lucky children and various strays that her children brought home. She was a lifelong learner, a voracious reader and the person to call if you had questions about anything from history to bird watching. She enjoyed watching her hummingbirds in the summer and the birds at her feeder all winter. In 1948, at the age of 14, she was crowned Miss Beetown during it’s centennial celebration. (Back then Beetown was a big lead mining town.) After high school she spent several years living in Chicago where she married her first husband (Donald Manning) and had the first three of her six children. Grace made the long drive to Dodgeville to work at Lands’ End for many years. She had a generous heart and her children and grandchildren were gifted with Lands’ End items for all of those years.

Surviving Grace are her loving husband of 50 years, Thomas Giesen of Cassville; her children, Jerry (Christy) Manning of Dothan, Alabama (currently in Kirkuk, Iraq); Sherri Sherman of Dubuque, Iowa; Susan (Tom) McLimans of Lancaster, Daniel (Cheryl) Giesen of Stoughton; and David (Debra Bryhan) Giesen of Platteville; her step-children Judy Conley of Bloomington; Sarah Dressler of Lancaster; Tom Giesen of Beetown; Tim Giesen of Ladysmith, WI; and Jackie (Denny) Ellingson of Cassville; her sisters, Darlene (Don) Giesen, Bea (Wayne) Martin, and Joy Ann Christensen and many nieces and nephews. She is also survived by her grandchildren, Jeremy Manning, Barry and Heather Sherman, Josh and Renee McLimans, Jacob and Mallory Giesen and Tyler and Levi Giesen.

Grace was preceded in death by her parents, her brothers, Jerry Lee Christensen, Marlin Christensen, Neal Christensen Jr., Dean Hamlin; and her son, Terry Manning.

Friends called Monday evening, March 15, 2010, from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Schwartz Funeral Home in Lancaster. There will be a private burial at a later date at the Cassville Cemetery.