Cheryl A. Lechtenberg, 71
Cheryl A. Lechtenberg, age 71 of New Hampton, died Saturday, Jan. 9, 2021 at MercyOne Medical Center in New Hampton.
A Mass of Christian Burial was held 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021 at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in North Washington with Rev. Brian Dellaert celebrating the Mass. Interment followed at St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery in North Washington.
Friends greeted the family from 4- 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021 at Hugeback-Johnson Funeral Home & Crematory in New Hampton where there was a 7 p.m. parish scripture service. Visitation continued an hour prior to the Mass on Thursday at the church in North Washington.
Cheryl’s amazing life began on May 2, 1949, the day her parents, Clayton and Virginia (Johnston) Burgart, welcomed their daughter into the world. She was born in New Hampton and grew up on a farm between Fredericksburg and New Hampton, where she loved to ride horses. Along with her five brothers and four sisters, she learned that everyone had chores and jobs around the farm.
She attended school in New Hampton, and she was a member of the New Hampton High School Class of 1967.
Cheryl’s family attended St. Mary’s Church, as did a young man named Kenny Lechtenberg, who will admit now that this pretty young woman was one reason he was so faithful about attending Mass. They went out on their first date in 1968, and a year later — on June 21, 1969 — they were married at St. Mary’s, beginning an adventure that lasted for 51 1/2 years.
They settled in North Washington and welcomed five children — Tammy, Troy, Trisha, Travis and Trent —who knew they had a special mother who had a gift when it came to kids, one that would serve her well when she opened her in-home day care.
The Lechtenberg kids knew a few things: Mom hated to wear shoes, she loved going to their sporting events and it didn’t matter what the time of day was when they and their friends showed up, she would always cook them breakfast.
Cheryl’s disdain for shoes will always be a part of the Lechtenberg family lore. There was the time, she couldn’t understand where a “clicking” sound was coming from; it turned out she had a thumb tack stuck to the bottom of her foot. When Cheryl’s kids moved into their own homes, they were never shocked when Mom left her shoes at their houses.
She had a soft spot for children of all ages, especially babies, and for more than 30 years, she arose at 4, 4:30 in the morning, got in the first 2 1/2 miles of the seven miles she walked every day, came home and took care of area children. Her day-care kids, many of whom are now adults and raising their own children, still talk about the fun and the memories they made at “Grandma Cheryl’s” house.
Cheryl loved supporting her kids, and Kenny and her rarely, if ever, missed their sporting events, and that love for sports grew even stronger when their 13 grandchildren began playing. It didn’t matter what sport, she was there, always with a Mountain Dew in hand.
She was also a voracious collector of knick knacks; in fact, it’s doubtful that she ever passed on buying one. Although she had thousands — seriously, thousands — of them, she knew where all of them belonged. If you switched the red and the blue ones, as the friends of the Lechtenberg kids tried to do — she would come into the room and say, “You guys are so funny.”
If one word describes Cheryl, it is kind. She loved helping and supporting Opportunity Village, she delivered candy canes every year to the Mennonite and Amish schools, helped whenever and wherever she could at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church and, of course, if you were one of Grandma Cheryl’s kids, you knew she would always have your back.
She lived a full life, and right up until a couple of weeks ago, she was still running her day care and still getting her seven miles of walking in every day. Our little corner of the world will not be the same without her, and her children, grandchildren, family members, friends and day-care kids will miss her dearly.
Cheryl is survived by her husband of more than 51 years, Kenny Lechtenberg; three sons, Troy Lechtenberg of North Washington, Travis Lechtenberg of New Hampton, Trent (Courtney) Lechtenberg of New Hampton; two daughters, Tammy (Eric) Robinson of New Hampton, Trisha (Jamie) Wegner of New Hampton; 13 grandchildren Dylan Robinson, Abby Robinson, Ty Robinson, Tarron Lechtenberg, Tanner Lechtenberg, Tyanna Lechtenberg, Darian Wegner, Sydney Wegner, Molly Wegner, Brayden Lechtenberg, Brooks Lechtenberg, Brea Lechtenberg, Breslin Lechtenberg; four brothers, Richard (Janet) Burgart of New Hampton, Roger (Mary) Burgart of Sumner, Randy (Linda) Burgart of New Hampton, Rocky (Sue) Burgart of New Hampton; four sisters, Dianne Dann of Fredericksburg, Barbara (Dennis) Folkers of Oelwein, Dixie (Jim) Joebgen of North Washington, Dawn (John) Eichenberger of Lawler; many nieces and nephews; and the scores of kids who spent their days at “Grandma Cheryl’s” house.
She was preceded in death by her parents; two brothers, Joseph Clayton in infancy and Rance in 1981; step-mother, Mavis Burgart; and one unborn child.
