Orloene Olga Thom

Orloene Olga Thom, 88, of Mankato, died Tuesday, January 5, 2016 at Water’s Edge Assisted Living.

Visitation will be from 4-8 p.m. Sunday, January 10 at Northview – North Mankato Mortuary. Funeral service at 10:30 a.m. Monday, January 11 at St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in North Mankato with visitation one hour prior. The Reverend Roger Knepprath will officiate. Burial will follow at Pilgrim’s Rest Cemetery. Memorials are preferred to the church or donor’s choice.

Orloene was born August 3, 1927, in Brown County, MN to August and Olga (Neumann) Radel. She was baptized as an infant and later confirmed on May 17, 1940. Orloene graduated from Wabasso Public High School. She and Clinton Fossen were married on June 24, 1950. She later attended secretarial training and worked at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, Mankato State College and the IRS.   On May 1, 1976, she married Donald Thom at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Mankato and their two families were blended.

Orloene loved to dance and play card games of any kind. She especially enjoyed fishing with her sisters at Bear Paw Resort, cheering for the Minnesota Twins and identifying and watching the birds in her neighborhood, even while she lived at Water’s Edge. Squirrels, however, were not her favorite animals, especially when they made a habit of stealing the bird seed! Orloene enjoyed sewing dolls and doll clothes and making beautiful quilts, table runners and placemats. In her spare time, she also attended Bible study, worked as a reading aide at Hoover Elementary School and volunteered in the Jesus Cares program at church.

Survivors include her children, Janel (Robert) Rau of Tracy, Kevin (Nancy) Thom of Mankato, Larry Fossen and his daughter Ella of St. Anthony, Mark (Pat) Fossen of Owatonna, Alan (Cynthia) Thom of Mankato, Tom (Delores) Fossen of Pearl, MS, Michael (Mary) Thom of Rochester, and Janelle (Doug Buckner) Fossen of Clarksville, TN; 18 grandchildren; 17 great-grandchildren; and sisters, Eunice Gruendemann of Brainerd and Norma “Jeannie” (Curt) Krueger of Redwood Falls.


She was preceded in death by her parents; husbands, Clinton in 1964 and Donald in 2004; siblings, Verna Penkert, Everline Volk, Lynette Jahn, infant twin brother Ordell Radel, Robert Radel, Wilbert Radel, and Norman “Pete” Radel.