Donna Mae Winkels, 80, of Lyle, Minn., died Thursday April 17, 2014, at the Spring Valley Assisted Living facility.

She was born May 12, 1933, to Henry C. and Catherine (Sternburg) Bauch in Cresco, Iowa. At the age of 2, following her mother’s death, the family moved to LeRoy, Minn., where she made her home with Fred and Phoebe Nelson and their daughter, Della.

Donna attended school there and graduated in 1952. On Feb. 14, 1953, she was united in marriage to Benjamin Winkels of Adams. They made their home in and around Austin, Minn. Donna was active in scouting for a number of years and received the Silver Scout Award. She was very active in the VFW Auxiliary where she cooked for many years. She went through the chairs and served as President of Auxiliary 1216 for three terms. She also served as District President in 1980 and 1981. Donna enjoyed raising her family and working with the young and for the veterans organization. She enjoyed all her grandchildren, craftwork, cooking, her flowers, the cardinal bird, and enjoyed collecting cardinal figurines.

Surviving are her sons, Richard (Carol) Winkels of Grand Forks, N.D.; Michael (Patti) Winkels of Prescott Valley, Ariz.; Dwaine (Dawn) Winkels of Albert Lea, Minn.; daughters, Debra (Larry) Callahan of rural Lyle; Linda (Kevin) Hansen of rural Austin; Robin (Larry) Wangen of Albert Lea; sister, Jewell Ruud of Spring Valley, Minn.; 14 grandchildren, seven great, great grandchildren; two due in the fall of 2014; sister, Jewel Ruud of Spring Valley.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Ben on April 11, 2002; her parents; three step brothers; one step sister and a foster sister.

Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m., Monday, April 21, 2014, at Worlein Funeral Home in Austin with Deacon Richard Aho officiating. Visitation is from 5 to 7 p.m., Sunday and one hour prior to the service on Monday. Interment is at Calvary Cemetery in Austin. Condolences may be expressed to the family online at www.worlein.com.