Julia Claire Thorleifson, 73, of Carver, MN, died on March 1st, 2022, almost five years after being diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma. She lived a life filled with love and light, touching many.
Julie was born on March 17, 1948 to Freeman and Mary Claire Thorleifson in Bottineau, ND, the second of four daughters in the family. Julie graduated from Bottineau High School in 1966, and went on to study at Minot State University, graduating first with a BS in Education and then a MS in Special Education.
Although Julie spent her career in the field of special education, she had a strong parallel calling in theatre arts. She was one of the founders of the Sawmill Playhouse summer theatre at Lake Metigoshe near the Peace Gardens in North Dakota and played numerous lead roles there, at Minot State, and throughout her life in church and civic performances.
Julie’s career was spent mainly in Mankato, MN, at Franklin, Jefferson, and Kennedy Elementary Schools, where she guided and taught special education students. Julie met her husband, Dean Muesing, in Mankato where they married in 1981 and had two children: John and Claire. Julie retired at 60, spending time with friends and family in Mankato until last year when she and Dean moved to Carver to be closer to their growing family.
Julie’s interests were eclectic: theatre, music, art and photography projects, singing in the Centenary United Methodist church choir, part-time work in retail (so she could continue to purchase beautiful clothes), and increasingly, time with her grandchildren.
Julie was preceded in death by her sister, Elisabeth, and her father, Freeman. Surviving is her husband, Dean Muesing, two children and three grandchildren: John and April Muesing (Peter) and Claire and Seth Schleicher (Evelyn and Theodore). She is also survived by her mother, Mary Claire Thorleifson and two sisters, Janet Streff and Sally Wilkins.
Services will be held on Thursday, March 10th at Ballard-Sunder in Shakopee at 2:00 pm. Visitation at 1:00 pm.
In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations be made to your local food shelf or homeless shelter. One of Julia’s fondest missions was preparing and serving meals to the homeless via Holy Grounds.
