Marilyn Elizabeth Mills

Marilyn Elizabeth Mills, 93, of Benson, Minnesota, died on October 9, 2023, at her home in Benson. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, October 21, 2023, at 11:00 am at Trinity Lutheran Church, Benson, with visitation at the church one hour prior to the service. Interment will be in the Benson City Cemetery.  Zniewski Funeral Home of Benson is assisting the family with the arrangements.

Marilyn was born on July 27, 1930, in Sauk Centre, Minnesota to Albert and Regine (Wiener) Lietz. She was baptized and confirmed at St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Sauk Centre, Minnesota. The family lived in town until Marilyn was five when her parents decided to return to farming and purchased a farm south of town. Marilyn loved the farm. After completing eighth grade, Marilyn remained at home to care for her ailing mother, until the age of 18, when she began working at Grossman’s Variety Store in Sauk Centre, and later as a waitress at the Palmer House Restaurant where she met her love, Orie Mills of Benson. Marilyn reaffirmed her faith April 19, 1953, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Benson, and she and Orie were married there on April 25, 1953, by Rev. J. G. Swedberg. They were blessed with six children, and after all were in school she returned to work outside the home, first at the Betty Ann Bakery, and later the Fingerhut Corporation. Marilyn was an active member of the Trinity Lutheran Church Women, the Bible Study Circle, and the Quilters Group, as well as the V.F.W. Auxiliary and the Brownies Scouting Group. She enjoyed needle work, cards, dominos, and most of all, spending time with her husband, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husband Orie, on December 26, 2016, daughter and son-in-law Sherri and Peter Middleton, son James, granddaughter Faustina, sister and brother-in-law Lorraine and Gerhard Kind, sister and brother-in-law Veronica and Donald Ripka, brother and sister-in-law Vernon and June Lietz, and brother Ardell Lietz.

She is survived by her sons: Gary of Benson, Minnesota, Dale (Tomoko) of Pleasanton, California, and Scott (Cindy) of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and daughter Gwenn of Hutchinson. She is also survived by five grandchildren: Ross (Mindy) of Willmar, Kenichi (Sayaka) of Edison, New Jersey, Louis of Brooklyn, New York, Eric (Kia) of Madison, Wisconsin, and Lindsey (Andrew) of Bemidji, Minnesota, four great-grandchildren: Aiden, Eva, Jordan and Everly, brother Eugene (Virginia) Lietz of St. Paul, Minnesota, sister-in-law Joanne Lietz, and brother-in-law Marlin (Martha) Mills of Pennsylvania, and many nieces and nephews.

In Lieu of flowers memorials may be given to Trinity Lutheran Church or the Swift County Historical Society of Benson.