Mildred I (Krinke) Sandell

Northview - North Mankato Mortuary
2060 Commerce Drive
North Mankato, MN 56003
(507) 388-2288

Mildred Irene Krinke Sandell passed into the loving arms of her Savior Jesus Christ on September 9, 2014 in her home in North Mankato, MN.

A Memorial Service will be held at 11:00 a.m., Friday, September 12, 2014 at Crossview Covenant Church, North Mankato, MN. Interment will be in Kasota Hill Cemetery. Northview-North Mankato Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.

Mildred was born May 25, 1920, to John Ernest and Ella Ernestine (Werner) Krinke on a farm near Lamberton, MN. She grew up with two sisters and five brothers. She graduated from Lamberton High School in 1938 and attended Augsburg College, Minneapolis, MN.

In 1939, Mildred moved to Mankato and enrolled in the Mankato Teacher's College two-year teacher preparation program. She started attending Mission Covenant Church, North Mankato, where she met Harold Sandell. After college graduation, Mildred taught children in one-room schools in Fairfax, MN and in Springfield, MN, while Harold served in the US Navy during World War II. Two years later, on May 4, 1945, they were married. Harold finished his term in the Navy, and Mildred completed her third year of teaching.

After the war, they settled in Mankato. Harold worked at Southern Minnesota Supply, and Mildred was a stay-at-home wife and mother to their three children: Denny, Ron, and Beverly. Mildred worked in several positions for the Mankato Public Schools. During the 1970s, she worked as the Evangelical Covenant Church office secretary for three years. Together, she and Harold welcomed pastors and friends and family into their home.

Mildred enjoyed feeding and watching birds, gardening, and sewing. At the Covenant Church, she taught Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, and the children's after-school group known as Pathfinders. She was on the Flower Committee and on the Missions Committee. She served as a deaconess and choir member. She was a president, treasurer, secretary, and member of Covenant Women. She received the Covenant Women Recognition Award in 1996 for her 50 years of being a Covenant Woman. She was also very involved in the church's Friendship Builders fellowship group.

She kept in touch with some of her school pupils for more than 60 years. She was honored (along with other teachers) by the Brown County Historical Society as a one-room school house teacher and received a Certificate of Recognition and a crystal apple. Mildred was known for her hand-written letters, especially notes of encouragement to family members, former pastors, and missionaries. She also enjoyed playing the piano for worship services in several area health care centers, including Mankato House and Monarch Meadows.

Mildred was preceded in death by her husband (Harold Richard Sandell), parents (John and Ella Krinke), one sister (Betty Jean Ryan), four brothers (Darold, Kenneth, Donald, Merle), and one nephew (Robert Ryan). She is survived by her three children, Denny (Elizabeth) Sandell (Mankato), Ron Sandell (Mankato), and Beverly (Dean) Leonard (Albert Lea); her two grandchildren, Karen Leonard (North Liberty, IA) and Amanda (Neal) Wenninger (Winthrop); one brother, Robert Krinke (Lamberton); one sister, Ruth Severson (Mankato); and many nieces and nephews, extended family and friends.

Instead of flowers, memorials are preferred to the American Heart Association or to Crossview Covenant Church, North Mankato, MN.