Madonna Mary Laures, 79
Madonna Mary Laures, age 79 of New Hampton, passed away Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2021, at her home surrounded by family.
Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021, at Holy Family Parish in New Hampton, with the Rev. Brian Dellaert celebrating the Mass. Interment will follow at St. Mary’s Cemetery in New Hampton with Leandra Laures, Isabella Laures, Logan Laures, Keaton Laures, Maryn Laures, Piper Laures, and Christian Campbell serving as pallbearers.
Friends greeted the family from 4 to 7 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 6, 2021, at Hugeback-Johnson Funeral Home & Crematory in New Hampton where there was a 6:45 p.m. Parish Scripture Service. Visitation continues an hour prior to the Mass on Tuesday at the church.
Online condolences for the Laures family may be left at hugebackfuneralhome.com.
Madonna was born on March 2, 1942, to Amos and Hilda (Schluetter) Burgart in North Washington, and she grew up on a farm with her two older brothers and one older sister. She received her education and was a member of the Class of 1960 at North Washington’s Catholic School, St. Mary’s.
In her younger days, Madonna liked to bowl in the winter and was a hard-hitting shortstop for the North Washington Jets in the summer. She loved telling stories of playing the game she loved and helping her team advance to a state tournament.
Madonna married Russell Laures and the couple had three sons — Timothy, who died in infancy, Lynn and Brad — before divorcing. There’s no question, though, that her boys had a marvelous mother. Madonna taught them the value of hard work and the need to have a great sense of humor. She was a great cook and a superstar baker, whose pies, cakes, and cookies were legendary.
In the late 1980s, she took a job as a cook for New Hampton Community Schools — working first at the elementary school before transferring out to the high school — and over her 30-year career, she touched countless lives. She loved her “kids” at school, and they in turn loved her right back. She had that ability to reach every kid that went through her lunch line, and when she retired in 2020, lunchtime wasn’t quite the same at school.
Madonna was a member of Holy Family Parish and the VFW Auxiliary in Alta Vista. She was also a member of several card clubs and later in life, she loved going on “adventures” with her group of friends, or as she called them, “the girls.” She also loved to go to her daughter-in-law’s house and make strawberry rhubarb pies in the spring and apple pies and apple bars in the fall. The baked goods were amazingly scrumptious but the laughs in that kitchen were even better.
Madonna always put her family first. She loved her sons and adored her six grandchildren, all of whom have their “favorite Grandma stories.” They range from baking together, laughing together, to going shopping together, to the candy bowl that was always at her house, the candy that she brought out of her purse when she was away from home, as well as when they left their grandmother’s house, Madonna was always on the porch waving goodbye to them until they rounded the corner. They will also tell you that their grandmother had the best “eye roll” and could make them laugh at a moment’s notice.
In so many ways, Madonna lived an extraordinary life, and even when life tossed proverbial lemons at her, she turned it into the sweetest, most loving lemonade. She was an exceptional caregiver; when you were sick, she took the best care of you. Material things meant nothing to her, yet she was the type of person who always came up with the perfect gift for her grandchildren. Her grandchildren, as well as their dogs, would describe her as “the best babysitter ever.”
Madonna was diagnosed with cancer on Oct. 11 of this year, but she didn’t feel sorry for herself; instead, in her short, valiant fight, she touched the lives of the doctors and nurses who cared for her. And she continued to love and laugh right to the end.
She will be dearly missed, but those “Madonna memories” will last a lifetime for those she has left behind.
Madonna is survived by two sons, Lynn Laures of Kasson, Minnesota, and Bradley (Terri) Laures of Denver; six grandchildren, Leandra (Christian Campbell) Laures, Isabella Laures, Logan Laures, Keaton Laures, Maryn Laures and Piper Laures; and many nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents; one son in infancy, Timothy Laures; two brothers, Gerald (Rita) Burgart, Bob Burgart; one sister, Darlene (Jack) McGowan.
