Gloria J. (Stencel) Hoppe

Gloria Jean (Stencel) Hoppe, age 78, of Mankato, MN, entered into Eternal Life at Oak Terrace Assisted Living Center (Autumn Lane) on Friday, December 9, 2022, after a long battle against Alzheimer’s disease.

Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:30 a.m., Saturday, December 17, 2022, at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, St. Clair. Visitation will be from 4:00-7:00 p.m. on Friday, December 16, 2022, at the church and will continue one hour before the service on Saturday. A private family interment will take place at a later date in Immaculate Conception Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the following: Alzheimer’s Association at act.alz.org or Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in St. Clair, Minnesota where Gloria was an active member for many years.

The daughter of Edward C. and Goldie B. (Burmeister) Stencel, Gloria was born on May 10, 1944, in Mankato, MN. After starting her school days in a one-room school house, she graduated from Waldorf-Pemberton High School in 1962. Since girls were not allowed to play sports at that time, Gloria became a cheerleader, the closest thing to a sport. She worked hard on the farm place near Waldorf, helping out with indoor and outdoor chores.

Gloria attended Mankato State University, where she graduated in June 1966 with a degree in Elementary Education. She taught the majority of her years at Waldorf-Pemberton Schools. She finished up her career of 33 years, teaching 4^th grade in Janesville, when they consolidated with Waldorf-Pemberton.

Gloria met Merrill “Bill” Hoppe during her senior year of high school, after being set up on a blind date by her brother, Jerry and sister-in-law, Kathy Stencel. They continued to date while she was in college and married on December 27, 1965. They lived most of their years on the rural farm place near St. Clair, MN and were blessed with four children, Angie, Curt, Nicole, and Corey.

Beyond her professional career, she enjoyed reading, gardening, quilt making, exercising, traveling the world with friends and siblings, and spending lots of time with her kids, 13 grandchildren, and one great grandchild. Gloria found gratification helping out at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in St. Clair, by teaching many years of catechism, singing in the church choir, and contributing her baking and sewing talents to the church bazaar every year.

Gloria will be lovingly remembered by her husband, Bill, of almost 57 years of marriage; her four children: Angela (Mike) Smisek of Faribault, Curtis (Kelly) Hoppe of McKinney, TX, Nicole (Josh) Paden of New Prague, and Corey (Jamie) Hoppe of Mankato; her grandchildren: Dillon and Madison Smisek, Erin (Jack) Rhoades and Colbie Rhoades (great granddaughter), Ross, Megan, and Ryan Hoppe; Marah, Mason, and Tanner Paden; Gabriel, Chloe, Sophie, and Zoey Hoppe. She is also survived by her sisters, Jeanette Ragusin (Warren Moreland), CA, and Mary Kay Stencel, MN; her brother Joseph (Marsha) Stencel, NJ, her brother-in-law, Gene Gerdts and sister-in-law, Kathy Stencel, MN. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her brothers, Edward F. Stencel, Gerald (Jerry) Stencel, and John M. Stencel; as well as her sister, Ginger Gerdts.

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Mankato Area Funeral Homes.

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