Phyllis Kauwell

Phyllis Aileen Kauwell, age 96 of Madison, MN, formerly of Cannon Falls, MN, died peacefully on Thursday, May 2, 2024 at the Madison Healthcare Services. Phyllis was born on November 28, 1927 in Santa Monica, California, to Adolph and Florence (McColl) Donecker.

She graduated from Central High School in Minneapolis in 1945. She attended college from 1946-1951, including Winona State University and the University of Minnesota. Her major was Education with a minor in Geography. She was very interested in the natural world. Her favorite magazine was Minnesota Volunteer Conservation.

The summer after finishing college, she worked in Glacier National Park, very memorable. Soon after, she moved to California with a girlfriend. She married Ralph Kauwell on March 1, 1952 in Los Angeles; they had two children, John and Charla. They divorced many years later. He died in 1998. She retired from McMahan's Furniture Store in Englewood, CA in 1995, her favorite job. In 1998, she moved to Cannon Falls, MN. She lived across the hall from her former classmate at Winona College, Leola "Lee" Frame, for 16 years. She was a member of First Baptist Church, secretary of Golden Agers of Cannon Falls, and was a foster grandparent at the Cannon Falls Elementary School. She loved those children and they loved her. She loved to travel and took many road trips with her friend, Lee, to fun sights around Minnesota and Eastern Canada. Her friend, Ed, also drove her to California to visit her dear family and friends several times.

While she still had many fun times and friends the past ten years, she fought advancing Alzheimer's Disease. The staff at the care centers enjoyed her wit and fiesty comebacks. Close friends from her church helped care for her and celebrated many special occasions with her. Her granddaughter, Candy, and her good friends, Julie and Claire, really doted on her, sending her cards and gifts.

She is survived by her son, John, of Lakeside, CA; daughter, Charla Gonzales, of San Diego, CA; grandchildren: Candy Qualters, Anthony Gonzales, and Alisa Virgin; great-grandchildren: Tanaya Graves and Alejandro Virgin; and many other dear friends from her church in Cannon Falls.

A memorial service will be held on Sunday, May 19 at 1:00 pm at First Baptist Church in Cannon Falls, with Pastor Bradley Berglund officiating. (no visitation before the service) Interment will be at Glendale Cemetery in Savage.