Ila Born

Ila Born August 2, 1920 - April 26, 2012

Ila Mae Born, age 91 of St. Clair, died on Thursday, April 26, 2012 at the Mapleton Community Home in Mapleton, Minnesota from complications of Alzheimer''s Disease. Funeral services will be held on Monday, April 30th at 11:00 A.M. at St. John''s Evangelical Lutheran Church in St. Clair with Rev. Matthew Grunewald, officiating. Interment will be in the church cemetery. Visitation will be held on Sunday afternoon from 2 to 5 P.M. at Arnoldt-McRaith Funeral Home & Crematory in Janesville, and will continue on Monday morning for one hour prior to services, at church. Ila Mae was born August 2, 1920 to John and Ida (Frey) Kopke in rural Mapleton, Minnesota. She was baptized and confirmed at St. John''s Ev. Lutheran Church in St. Clair. Ila Mae attended country school about a mile from her home, and graduated from St. Clair High School in 1937. On November 30, 1944 she was united in marriage to Roland Otto Born at St. John''s Ev. Lutheran Church in St. Clair. Ila Mae and Roland raised their family on their rural St. Clair farm. Over the years she was employed by S&L Department Store in Mankato as a shoe clerk and cashier, and later worked as a secretary with the Gulf Fertilizer Plant in St. Clair. Ila Mae served as president of the St. John''s Ev. Lutheran Church Ladies Aid, St. Clair PTA, and volunteered her time for many other committees and organizations. She was a lifelong member of St. John''s Ev. Lutheran Church in St. Clair. Ila Mae enjoyed cooking and baking, vegetable and flower gardening, sewing, playing cards, fishing and spending time at the family cabin on Lake Francis. Roland and Ila Mae loved to dance and were winners of the Ralph Flanagan Dance Contest in 1958. She especially enjoyed the 16 winters she and Roland spent in Mesa, Arizona. Ila Mae treasured time spent with her family and friends. She is survived by her husband Roland of North Mankato; her sons, Dean (Connie) Born of Slidell, LA, and Randy (De) Born of rural St. Clair; by her daughter, Karen (Kirk) Messier of Iowa City, IA; by her 9 grandchildren, Troy (Windi) Born and their children First and America of Acworth, GA; Travis (Tori) Born and their children Isabella and Gavin of Slidell, LA; Case Born of Slidell, LA; Jennifer (George) Sanchez and their children Seth and Hanna of Washington State; Alecia (Todd) Hodgkinson of Des Moines, IA; Jason Messier of Iowa City, IA; LCpl. Adam Born of Okinawa, Japan; Billy Craig of rural St. Clair and Dena Craig of Milwaukee, WI; by many other relatives and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents and her sister Lita Schonrock. Casket Bearers are: Troy Born,

Travis Bearers Born and Born, are: Case Jason Ila''s Born. grandchildren, Messier, Billy Alecia Craig, Messier, Todd Hodgkinson Dena Craig, and Jennifer Brian Nelson. Sanchez, Honorary Adam