Marlene Mildred Fiegen

Marlene Mildred Fiegen, formerly of La Crescent, Minnesota, age 90, died in her sleep when her heart stopped on February 2nd, 2024, at Bethany Saint Joseph Care Center in La Crosse.  Despite her severe stroke in 2020 she retained her zest for living.  Her appetite for all forms of exercise and therapy was legendary at BSJ.

Marlene was born on December 23rd, 1933, to Leo and Martha (Dubbelde) Pierret in Palisades Township, SD.  She attended school in Garretson, SD where she earned salutatorian honors. She became a Registered Nurse after completing the program at the Presentation School of Nursing in Sioux Falls.

Marlene was enthusiastic and energetic about nearly everything.  She was an evangelist for the profession of nursing, for ballroom dancing, for home cleanliness, for being well-dressed, and for picking berries and making jam. Although she would never brag about her cooking, she took great pride in her baking and inherited perfect pie crust making from her mom.

Her nursing career spanned 60 years always working in a hospital including McKennan in Sioux Falls; St. Francis and Gundersen in La Crosse.  Only when managing tech gadgetry overtook direct patient care did she decide to retire.  The patient contact she relished was replaced by volunteering at Gundersen and delivering meals on wheels.

Marlene was the consummate worrier, convinced that sufficient worrying could prevent something bad happening to a member of her family.  She would sometimes lament a family member failing to inform her of a situation that warranted some intensive worry.

Ballroom dancing, which was a cherished part of her years dating Don Fiegen, got renewed commitment once her children were grown. Together with Don they traveled throughout the country to dance.  She especially enjoyed elegant dance venues and events, wearing dresses that Don considered nearly too daring.

Marlene applied her greatest energy for her family starting with her husband, Don.  With her boys she shared love that was attentive and demanding. Her grandchildren’s diversity of interests and aptitudes enriched her empty nester years.  No activity with the grandkids, from serious to frivolous, was beyond her.  She could not get enough of her great grandchildren. Using her one strong arm she would wrangle them to her side for the kind of heart-felt hug that was the light of her final years.

Marlene was preceded in death by her husband Donald, her parents, her siblings Sister Madonna, Arnold and wife Lorna, Kenneth and wife Mary Ellen, and Donnie; sisters-in-law Lorayne and husband Merle Goedken, Alice and husband Marvin Thomas, and brother-in-law Clarence Fiegen.

She is survived by sisters-in-law Barbara and husband Ronald Walters, Linda Pierret and Phyllis Fiegen; son Mark (wife Melanie Kogel), son Greg (wife Lisa Baldus), and son Brian (wife Susan Solie); nine grandchildren, their nine spouses, and 22 great-grandchildren, living in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ohio, and Virginia.

The family is especially grateful for the superb care Marlene received at Bethany Saint Joseph Care Center.

There will be visitation on Thursday, February 15th from 5:00 to 7:00 pm at Schumacher Kish Funeral Home in La Crescent with the rosary prayed after. A funeral Mass will be celebrated on Friday, February 16th at 11:00 am at Church of the Crucifixion in La Crescent MN. Reverend John L. Evans II will officiate. There will be visitation 1 hour before Mass, and lunch in the school cafeteria after.

The family prefers that any memorials be made to Bethany St. Joseph Care Center or the American Heart Association.