Rachel Wiskow Beseke

Rachel L. Wiskow Beseke, 97, of Saint Charles passed away Friday, December 20, 2013 at Saint Mary's Hospital in Rochester. Rachel was born to Ben and Meta (Engelbart) Smith on July 18, 1916 in Saint Charles, Minn. She attended Saint Charles High School. On August 3,1931 she married Everett Wiskow. Everett passed away in 1985 after 53 years of marriage. In 1986, she married Richard Beseke, a long time friend. They were married for 10 years. Over the years Rachel enjoyed her family, jeeping, crocheting, snowmobiling, horseback riding, and in her retirement years, spent many hours scouting ditches for aluminum cans on her three-wheeler. Rachel and Everett owned and operated the Phillips 66 service station in Saint Charles in the late 1940's. Rachel was a full-service attendant. Later, adjacent to the filling station, they opened the first root beer stand in the area. Rachel then worked for Bell Telephone Company for several years, and in the 1970's, she worked as a dental assistant at the Saint Charles Dental Office. She ended her employment with 10 years working for Whitewater State Park. Loving family members include: three children; Carol (Stan) Braun, Patti (Don) Zingler, and Irv (Elayne) Wiskow, all of Saint Charles; eight grandchildren, Bruce (Margaret) Braun, Jeri Schoonover, Becky (Jeff) Bailey, Brent (Janelle) Zingler, Dena Zingler, Jill (Dan) Christie, Mylee (Bob) Puetz, and Bryce (Paula) Wiskow; twenty-two great grandchildren, fourteen great-great grandchildren; a sister, Dorothy Wilson-Hadland, Black River Falls, WI, and a brother Irving Smith, Saint Charles. She was preceded in death by her husbands, and a brother, Merril Smith. The funeral service and celebration of the life of Rachel Beseke will be held on Tuesday, December 24, 2013 at 11:00 a.m. at the Saint Matthew's Lutheran Church, 555 East 12th Street, Saint Charles with the Rev. Samuel Morsching officiating. Visitation will be at Hoff Funeral Home on Monday, December 23, 2013 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and also for one hour prior to the church service. Burial will be at Hillside Cemetery, Saint Charles. Please share a memory of Rachel at her on-line guestbook and view her Tribute Video when it becomes available at www.hofffuneral.com.
Tribute video can be found at: videos.lifetributes.com/451656