Ihla Mae Monson

Ihla Mae Monson, age 79, of Corcoran, passed away January 10, 2024.

Ihla started life in Sleepy Eye, MN, and her early years involved moving around a bit as her father constructed homes throughout the area. Settling in the Bloomington area in the late 1950’s, she met her husband of almost 61 years in 1962. They were married in February of 1963 on a wonderful sunny day, that ended with a typical MN snowstorm that made travel exciting for everyone on the way home. The extended families were large. There were always birthdays, baptisms, and family celebrations to attend. Weekends were for visiting, catching up, and playing with family. There was lots of food, lots of laughter, and never empty cups of coffee.

Ihla was an extremely talented seamstress and her ‘hobby’ of alterations and dress making morphed into upholstery work. She had a chair she liked and wanted to spruce it up, so she took a course. Her project started small, but like a snowball, it grew and grew, and eventually lasted for decades. As her skill set and reputation expanded, simple chair work became complete structural rebuilds. The area of her home storing these projects became crowded. Couches, chairs, and tables would occasionally spill into rooms and areas throughout the house. Pieces could be found in various stages of gluing and assembly/disassembly throughout the basement. It grew so much that she would often say, ‘I think this piece will be my last.’ But Ihla had a difficult time saying no, especially to some of the returning customers who wanted to bring life back to recently discovered treasures, or antiques from generations back. What started as that single chair, kept her sewing and busy for a long, long time. There were a lot of happy customers throughout the Twin Cities.

Another hobby Ihla had was bowling. For many years it was a twice a week event. And for a time, she was teamed up with a group of ladies who were all skilled, competitive, and good enough to make it to Nationals a few times. There were more than a few 300 games in the litany. There may yet be a bowling ball or two in the home.

Ihla’s maiden name was Wolfe, and with that she carried on the family tradition of working for the Lund’s grocery chain. For years, she worked in the bakery and would leave for work around 3:45 am. She did this for so long that it took her a few years after she retired to finally learn to ‘sleep in’ and not wake up in the middle of the night to get ready for work.

We will “hug the children and pet the dogs”. Rest in peace, Ihla. You will be missed.

Ihla is survived by her husband, Chuck Monson; son, Michael (Bonnie) Monson; daughter, Kathy (Dean) Zierden; grandchildren, Isaac Monson (fiance, Tali Caiani), Luke Monson (fiance, Lauren Jennaro), Tonya Mae Zierden (fiance, Nate LaPean), Annelise Marie Zierden and Charles Joseph Zierden; great-grandchildren, Payton and Grayson LaPean; sister, Dee (Ron) Nelson; brothers, Dave (Gayle) Wolfe, Rick (Wanda) Wolfe and John (Lynn) Wolfe; brothers-in-law, Tom (Anne) Monson and John (Angela) Monson; sister-in law, Pat (John) VonEschen; 15 nieces and 14 nephews and many other family members and friends.

She is preceded in death by parents, Doyle and Jeanie Wolfe; brothers, Ed and Doyle (Karen) Wolfe; sister, Gloria Olson; sister-in-law, Bitz (Ron) Beachem; nephew, Ed Wolfe; and father and mother-in-law, Chet and Eve Monson.