Angaila (Gail) Essig
Angaila (Gail) Ilene Essig, 99, of Springfield, died on Dec. 26, 2018, at St. John Lutheran Home in Springfield.
Visitation and funeral service will be Monday, Jan. 14, in the Chapel of the Good Shepherd at St. John Lutheran Home. Visitation will be from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m., and the funeral service will be at 11:00 o’clock with Chaplain Noel Wetter officiating. Interment will be in the Springfield City Cemetery.
Angaila (Gail) Ilene (Todnem) Essig was born August 9, 1919, to I.A. Todnem and Anna Caroline Christenson in Underwood Township, Milroy, in Redwood County, Minnesota. The family moved in 1921 to a farm near Seaforth where they lived seven years and then moved to Sleepy Eye. Gail graduated from Sleepy Eye High School in 1936 and from the Teachers’ Training Department in 1937, and took summer sessions at St. Cloud State College to get her two-year teaching degree. She taught school at Fort Ridgely for four years and in Iberia two years. She was united in marriage to Alvin Essig on June 6, 1943, at the Evangelical Church in Sleepy Eye. They moved to the Essig family farm near Sanborn. They were members of the Red Rock Evangelical Church and when they retired and moved into Springfield they joined the United Methodist Church in Springfield where Gail was active in the church teaching Sunday School, UMW Bible Study and Mary Circle. She also worked at the Sanborn State Bank and volunteered at St. John Lutheran Home in the activity department. She was a member of the Sanborn Craft Club, Sanborn and Springfield Golf Clubs and the 500 Card Club. After Alvin’s death in 1999 she moved to Cottonwood Ridge Apartments in Springfield where she lived until 2016 when she moved to St. John Lutheran Home.
Gail is survived by her children, Merlin (Linda) Essig of Rochester, Minn., Rodney (Shary) Essig of Nashville, Tenn., and Barbara (Larry) Bushard of Longmont, Colo.; five grandchildren, Jason Essig, James (Laurie) Essig, Gregory (Masha) Essig, Alana Essig, and Elyse Angaila Bushard; seven great-grandchildren, Tyler, Jordan, Nathan, Kayla, Brady, Brenna and Regan Angaila Essig. Gail was preceded in death by her husband, Alvin, in 1999; one sister and three brothers.
In lieu of flowers, contributions to St John’s Circle of Care, 201 South County Road Springfield, MN 56087, would be appreciated by Gail Essig’s family.
Arrangements are with the Sturm Funeral Home in Springfield. Online condolences may be left for the family at www.sturmfh.com.