Cecelia F. Braem

Cecelia F. Braem, age 95, formerly of rural Alma, passed away on Saturday, June 11, 2022 at Gundersen-St. Elizabeth Healthcare Center, Wabasha.

She was born on May 5, 1927 in the Town of Waumandee to the late Fred and Wilma (Schmidtknecht) Zeller.

Cecelia attended grade school at St. Boniface Catholic School and then went on to graduate from Cochrane High School.

On May 4, 1946, Cecelia was united in marriage to Ivan A. Braem at St. Boniface Catholic Church in Waumandee.  To this union, 7 children were born.  Ivan preceded Cecelia in death on June 14, 2015.

Cecelia was a loving homemaker and she spent countless hours working side by side on the farm with her husband, milking cows and doing farm chores.  She also made homemade doughnuts, baked bread, had huge gardens and patched an endless pile of clothes.

Cecelia was a very talented lady with artistic and creative abilities. She created many treasures such as her  paintings on sawblades, milk cans or any item that we brought to her to paint.   We will always treasure her beautiful quilts.  What many will remember Cecelia for is her beautiful and exquisite tiered wedding cakes that she made for her family.   Her grandchildren will fondly remember all of the special birthday cakes she would create for them, such as the milk truck cake or the Barbie Doll cakes just to name a couple.  Her creativity was a great influence and her talents were passed down to the next generations.

She was a lifelong faithful parishioner of St. Boniface Catholic Church where she devoted her time as a CCD teacher and a member of the Altar Society.  Outside of her home and church, Cecelia was a member of the Homemakers club and could be spotted arm and arm with her husband at places like the Hilltop Ballroom or the Silver Moon as they loved to dance, especially the foxtrot.

Cecelia wouldn’t miss a special event and always sent cards to her family for special occasions.  She was the true definition of a storybook grandma and her legacy will be cherished and live on forever.

 Cecelia will be sadly missed in the hearts of  her children, Larry (Dianna) of Sacred Heart, MN, Warren (Brenda) of Alma, Carleton (Cindy) of Winona, Cheryl Kruger of Plainview, MN and Lori (Mark) Klatt of Bloomer; 17 grandchildren; 40 great grandchildren; one great-great granddaughter; son in law, Joseph Tschumper; daughter in law, Marilyn Braem;  sisters, Michaelene Heinz of Texas, Rita Foegen of Winona, brothers, Francis (Vickie) Zeller and Cletus Zeller of Arizona; also by many nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.

Besides her parents, Cecelia was preceded in death by her husband; daughter, Lynn Tschumper; son, Brian Braem; brothers, Roscoe “Russ”  (Ann) Zeller, Rudolph “Rudy” (Elaine)  Zeller; brother in law, Ray Heinz and Norbert Foegen and twin great grandchildren, Wyatt and Amelia Braem.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday, June 17, 2022 at 1:00 PM at St. Boniface Catholic Church with Father Arul Doss as Celebrant.  Burial will follow at the Parish Cemetery.

A visitation will be held on Friday, June 17 from 11:00 AM until the hour of the mass at the church.