Darlene Blume

Darlene Delores (Berg) Blume died Sunday, January 21, 2018 at her home in Herman, Minnesota surrounded by her loving family following a heroic battle with cancer. She was 66 years young.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held Friday, January 26, 2018 at 11:00 a.m. at St. Charles Catholic Church in Herman with Fr. Jeremy Ploof Celebrant.

Burial will be in Lakeside Cemetery, rural Herman at a later date. Pallbearers will be Tim Robertson, Scott Haupert, Tony Vipond, Dennis Vipond, Keith Bacon and Mark Krueger. Honorary Pallbearers will be Darlene's granddaughters: McKenzie, Kendall, Chaeli and Katey; her nieces and nephews; and all who called her friend.

Visitation will be held Thursday, January 25th from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. at St. Charles Catholic Church in Herman. Visitation will continue Friday morning one hour prior to service time at the church.

Darlene was born on March 12, 1951 in St. James, Minnesota to George Jr. and LaVerna (Ludewig) Berg. She attended school at Cathedral in New Ulm, MN and graduated from New Ulm Public High School in 1969. After a spontaneous and brief move to Colorado shortly after high school, Darlene moved to Fergus Falls, MN where she stumbled across the lucky man she would choose to marry. On October 5, 1974, Darlene was united in marriage to Walter Blume. The newlyweds made their home in and around Herman before permanently settling in 1976 in the home they would raise their family and share to this day. Darlene worked alongside Walt at Blume Equipment as a bookkeeper for a number of years prior to changing course completely to enter the United States Postal Service. She was employed as Officer in Charge in Herman and Norcross and worked part time in Morris as a carrier. In 1998 Darlene was sworn in as postmaster of the Cyrus Post Office where she would proudly remain until her retirement in March of 2014. Darlene spent her retirement doing the things that made her the happiest: spending time with her grandchildren and dear friends, tending to her garden with Faye, keeping Walt's honey-do list up to date and lengthy, traveling, community involvement, and tirelessly searching for soulmates for her two sons, Tommy and Tony, whom she adored like no one else on this earth and in no particular order. Darlene loved the simple things in life and took pride in all that she did whether it be her work, her house, her flowers, her nails, justifiably getting on Walt's case or her last organized bathroom drawer. She was never met without a genuine smile despite her long and arduous battle with cancer and her strength and courage throughout it all was nothing less than awe inspiring. Her laughter was contagious and her ability to make the most seemingly mundane of activities the best and most memorable of life experiences for the people around her was an immeasurable gift. Darlene was a faithful servant, a proud mother and grandmother, a tremendous friend and a humble and wonderfully imperfect human being.

Darlene is survived by her husband, Walter Blume of Herman, MN; daughters Kimberly (Tim) Robertson of Nicollet, MN; and Amy (Scott) Haupert of Keller, TX; son Tom Blume of Herman, MN; grandchildren: McKenzie, Kendall, Chaeli and Katey; parents George Jr. and LaVerna Berg of New Ulm, MN; sisters Carol (Randy) Wiltscheck of New Ulm, MN; and Janet (Mark) Krueger of Cleveland, MN; sister-in-law Judie (Martensen) Berg of New Ulm, MN; Dear friends, the Denny and Faye Vipond family of Herman, MN; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Darlene was preceded in death by her brother Marlin Berg; mother-in-law Elizabeth (Newberger) Blume; father-in-law Harold Blume; and brother-in-law Michael Blume.