West Funeral Home

Service 3 p.m. April 5 at The Federated Church, Fergus Falls. Olson Funeral Home, Fergus Falls.Louis N. Freiborg, 83, of Renville. Service 11 a.m. April 6 at Ebenezer Presbyterian Church, rural Renville. Dirks-Blem Funeral Home, Renville.Wayne John Herman, 81, of Willmar. Service 11 a.m. April 6 at Mount Calvary Lutheran Church, Excelsior.Frances Iverson, 87, of Willmar. Service noon April 6 at St. Mary's Catholic Church, Willmar. Peterson Brothers Funeral Home, Willmar.Helen E. Larson, 90, of Glenwood, formerly of Starbuck. Service 11 a.m. April 6 at Immanuel Lutheran Church, rural Starbuck. Starbuck Funeral Home, Starbuck.Donald L. Magnuson, 87, of Willmar. Service 11 a.m. April 5 at Assembly of God Church, Willmar. Harvey Anderson Funeral Home, WillmarLaVonne L. Mebust, 87, of Glenwood. Service 2 p.m. April 5 at West Lake Johanna Lutheran Church, rural Brooten. Hoplin-Hitchcock Funeral Home, Glenwood.Kenneth C. "Kenny" Peterson, 92, of Granite Falls. Service 2:30 p.m. April 4 at Wing-Bain Funeral Home, Granite Falls.Glenn R. Rosenow, 84, of Grove City. Service 10:30 a.m. April 6 at St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Litchfield. Johnson-Hagglund Funeral Home, Litchfield.Candice "Candy" Smith, 71, of Willmar. Service 11 a.m. April 9 at Vinje Lutheran Church, Willmar. Peterson Brothers Funeral Home, Willmar.Hilmer A. Soder, 92, of Litchfield. Service 11 a.m. April 8 at Beckville Lutheran Church, rural Litchfield. Johnson-Hagglund Funeral Home, Litchfield.George M. Wold, 98, of Maplewood. Service 11 a.m. April 6 at First Evangelical Free Church, Maplewood. Anderson Funeral Home, St. Paul.Mary R. Young, 66, of Redwood Falls. Service 11 a.m. April 5 at St. John Lutheran Church, Redwood Falls. Redwood Valley Funeral Home, Redwood Falls.

KNOE) - Griffin Funeral Home is taking a unique approach to funerals. Recently, they started personalizing funerals with items that tell a story about the person. "It takes a funeral service and turns it into more of a celebration of life," says Kenneth Griffin, owner of Griffin Funeral Home. The funeral home is asking families to bring in items that remind them of their loved one, then they take it from there. "And when you ask them about their loved one they'll say Grandma liked to garden," says Griffin, "or Papa liked to fish or hunt and so we build their funeral around the theme of that." For Jack Gray, he says it made all the difference at his father's funeral last week. Gray says his dad loved fishing and being outdoors. So when the funeral home asked him what his father liked, he wasn't sure what to bring. "Then it just dawned on me, you know the fire pit was what we did when we cooked out," says Gray. "So I called and asked them I thought it was pretty far out there." But he hadn't seen anything yet - the funeral home surprised the Gray family with a fishing boat complete with rods, reels, and bait. "It wouldn't have been daddy without all of that, he wasn't about formal things," says Gray. The funeral home says they've done funerals with grills and hot dogs, race cars, motorcycles, gardening tools and so much more. Griffin says it's all about making a special moment for people. He says they'll personalize both funerals and memorial services. Griffin Funeral Home has locations in Monroe and West Monroe. ...