Marcella A. Vlasak, 96, passed away peacefully Aug. 21, 2024, at Cottagewood Senior Community in Rochester, Minn.
She was born Feb. 11, 1928, to August and Ruth (Hutson) Zinke in the town of Clifton, Monroe County, Wis. After growing up on the family farm in New Lisbon, Wis., she graduated from New Lisbon High School in 1946. Marcella was united in marriage to Leo Vlasak on Oct. 23, 1950, at the Little Brown Church in Nashua, Iowa.
She worked as a legal secretary for both the Macomber and Thompson Law Offices in New Lisbon. Later in life, she worked in the office at Leer Manufacturing in New Lisbon. Marcella volunteered for many years at the Juneau County Bloodmobile. She was a member of St. Luke’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in New Lisbon and participated in the Ladies Aid.
After her husband passed away in 2007, Marcella eventually moved to Terrace Heights senior apartments in Mauston, Wis., where she lived on her own until age 92. She had family nearby when her brother, Don, moved in down the hall, and they passed time playing bingo, card games and dominoes. Marcella enjoyed gathering for family holidays and events, tending to her beautiful flowers and plants around her yard and indoors, and traveling by car and air to see different regions of the country. Family and friends enjoyed eating her delicious homemade pies and her wide variety of Christmas cookies.
She is survived by her two children, Wayne (Laurie) Vlasak of Rochester, Minn., and Nancy Vlasak of Laguna Niguel, Calif.; two grandchildren, Michael (Erica) Vlasak of Victoria, Minn., and Andrea (Arney) Abcejo of Rochester, Minn.; and four great-grandchildren. She also is survived by her sister, Irene Raymond of Hustler, as well as nieces, nephews, and other relatives and friends. She was preceded in death by her husband, Leo Vlasak; her parents; her brother, Donald Zinke; and several brothers- and sisters-in-law.
Thank you to the staff at Shorewood Assisted Living, Cottagewood Senior Community #4 and Seasons Hospice for their loving care of Marcella for the past four years. Thank you also to the staff at Terrace Heights for their support while Marcella resided there.
