Rose Marie (Garman) Hillig

Rose Hillig 81-year-old of Long Prairie, passed away on Sunday, October 22, 2023, at Long Prairie Nursing home. A memorial service will take place in her honor on Thursday, October 26, 2023, at the Trinity Lutheran Church in Long Prairie at 11:00 AM. Visitation will be at the church on Wednesday, October 25, 2023, from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM and will continue the day of the service from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM. Burial will immediately follow the funeral at the church cemetery. 

Rose Marie was born on April 9th, 1942, the only child of Royal and Viola (French) Garman of Long Prairie, Minnesota. Rose spent her life in Long Prairie with the exception of spending summers as a child in gravel pits where her toys were dirt and rocks as her father worked his gravel business that spanned across Minnesota from Redwood Falls to Long Prairie. Rose met a young man by the name, Marvin Hillig. Marvin knew he met a beautiful smart woman and asked her to marry him. He was lucky, she said yes and the two were united in marriage on August 29, 1959, at the Old Trinity Lutheran Church in Long Prairie. Their union was blessed with three amazing children, Elizabeth, Lorie and Scott. The young couple raised their family in Long Prairie. Marvin sold farm equipment and would eventually expand to a John Deere Dealership where Rose worked at the parts counter and was a natural with customer service with her smile and outgoing personality. When her son Scott was old enough to work with her, they purchased an additional implement in Swanville where they worked side by side for about 5 years and then sold the business. When her kids were teenagers, she also worked at the snack shack in downtown Long Prairie.

You would think that Rose had no downtime, but she would squeeze little blocks of time in her days, to work on various arts and crafts. She was an avid reader, enjoyed oil painting and collecting “pretty” things. She would crochet gifts for family and friends, and design purses for herself and also give to others. Ceramics were one of her favorite crafts to do, again using her artistic talents to bring the molds to life with a natural look. There wasn't anything she wouldn't do for her family, she was a great listener and compassionate friend to many. Often Rose and Marvin would go for drives around the countryside, often stopping to look at tractors and farm equipment. In addition Rose enjoyed going to the car auctions with her son Scott.

On Sunday, October 22, 2023, Rose took her last breath here on earth and made her journey to heaven. She was 81 years old. She will be greatly missed by her family and friends. She leaves behind her loving husband of 64 years, Marvin; children, Elizabeth (Richard) Spieker, Lorie (James) Irwin, and Scott (Becky) Hillig; grandchildren, Krystal (Bill) Weiss, Brandie (Ryan) Dahlvang, Cody Irwin, Paige Engels, Kate (Kyle) Bodle; and Eleven Great-grandchildren, with one on the way! Preceding Rose in death, were her parents, Royal and Viola Garman.

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