Lucille Tolstead, 93, died peacefully at the home of her daughter and son-in-law in Fort Dodge, Iowa, on Friday, Nov. 4, 2016.

Lucille was born on a farm in Mower County, Minnesota, the youngest of seven children born to John and Maude (Johnson) Heffern. Lucille lived across from a large prairie where she developed her lifelong love of nature, gardening and birdwatching. She attended rural schools and graduated from Adams High School with the class of 1941. In 1942, she married Donald Tolstead. They became the parents of two children, Thomas and Diane. They lived in Florida and Illinois before returning to southern Minnesota after World War II, making their home in Austin, Minnesota, and surrounding communities. Lucille was a wonderful homemaker and cook. She enjoyed DIY and crafts. She was active in church, especially after retirement at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Austin where she coordinated and cooked for church-related dinners and special events. She was a member of garden clubs in the communities where they lived and volunteered with the American Red Cross. In 2000, she moved to Fort Dodge and lived for 12 years in a townhome on Hilltop Road before moving to Athens Woods Estates in Stratford, Iowa, in 2012. During her years living at Friendship Haven, she was an active volunteer at the Adult Day Center, The Gardens and Tompkins Health Center. She was blessed with a green thumb and was an accomplished gardener enjoying cultivating African violets and houseplants. She enjoyed crocheting and made hundreds of doilies which she gave to everyone she knew. She had a dry sense of humor and was a world-class conversationalist. She never met a stranger and was a warm and caring wife, mother, volunteer, friend and neighbor.

Survivors include her son, Thomas (June) Tolstead, Miltona, Minnesota; daughter, Diane (Jeff) Rollins, Fort Dodge; grandchildren, Jarred Rollins, Des Moines, Iowa, and Lindsay (Steve) Gelder, Ellsworth, Iowa; and great-grandchildren, Sydney and Wyatt Gelder. Lucille was preceded in death by her husband, Donald; sister, Mary Buske; brothers, Maynard, Richard, Thomas, John Robert (Bob) and George; and parents, John and Maude Heffern.

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 8, at the Gunderson Funeral Chapel. Burial will be at Grand Meadow Cemetery in Grand Meadow.

Visitation will be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 7, at Gunderson Funeral Home & Cremation Services in Fort Dodge.

Memorials may be directed to Unity Point Hospice or at the discretion of the family.

Arrangements are by Gunderson Funeral Home & Cremation Services in Fort Dodge.