Leona Louise (Sommerfeld) Fabrizius was born to Otto and Louise (Hebbe) Sommerfeld in Marlin, TX on Monday, June 7, 1926. She passed away Wednesday, December 13, 2023, at the Ottawa County Health Center with her family at her side.
Leona met a handsome soldier while working as a waitress in Marlin. He had been stationed at Fort Hood, TX. That man was Herman Fabrizius. They were married in Marlin on May 20, 1945. After Herman was discharged from the Army in October 1945, they moved back to his family farm in WaKeeney, KS. He had worked in construction with his uncles since he was 12 or 13, so naturally he went back into that line of work. Needless to say, they relocated several times going from job to job and town to town, even while starting their family. In 1959, they moved to Minneapolis to build the original Minneapolis High School. Leona liked Minneapolis so much that she said “No more moving. He can go to his jobs and come home on the weekends.”
Leona worked as a waitress for a brief time at Bailey’s Restaurant before deciding to be a stay-at-home mom for a time. In 1968 she started her Certified Nurses Aide career at the Minneapolis Good Samaritan Center. In 1980, she went across the street to the Ottawa County Hospital, now known as the Ottawa County Health Center – retiring in 1992. While at the hospital, she worked the 3:00 to 11:00 P.M. shift with several older women and toss in a young man we all know as Santa Claus, AKA Todd Wilson. They all worked hard together but had so much fun together.
Leona loved her children and grandchildren and tried to follow all of their sports and activities. She loved games and she was an award-winning bowler. Leona loved Scrabble, dominoes, crossword puzzles, and BINGO – and she was the BEST at all of them.
She was the kindest most loving woman to everyone who knew her.
Leona was preceded in death by her parents; husband Herman on January 21, 1979; twin brothers, Otto and Arthur; sister, Alice Herwald; daughter, Mich Fiske; daughter-in-law, Lauri Fabrizius; granddaughter, Amy Cleveland; and great-grandson, Sydney.
Survivors are her children, Don Fabrizius and his wife, Wendy, Kathy Nash and her husband, Marty, Steve Fabrizius; and Mike Fabrizius and his wife, Tami; son-in-law, Kenny Fiske; 16 grandchildren; 26 great-grandchildren; and four great-great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be from 5:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M., Thursday, December 21 at Wilson Family Funeral Home, 405 Argyle Ave., Minneapolis, KS 67467. Funeral services will be at 10:00 A.M, Friday, December 22 at the funeral home. Burial will be in Highland Cemetery, Minneapolis. Memorials may be made to Ottawa County Health Center or the M.H.S. Alumni Scholarship Fund for granddaughter Amy Cleveland’s Accounting Scholarship and may be left in care of the funeral home.