Lois Rathmell, age 84 of Prior Lake, Minnesota, entered eternal life on February 10, 2022.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Wednesday, February 16, 2022 at 11am, with a gathering starting at 10am, both at St. Michael Catholic Church, 16400 Duluth Ave. SE, Prior Lake. Father Tom Walker will preside. Interment at St. Michael Catholic Cemetery.
Friends may join the mass via live streaming by visiting http://stmichael-pl.org and clicking on the live stream tab.
Lois was born on September 7, 1937 to Salvatore and Angela DeTota in Baltimore, Maryland. Lois grew up in Maryland in the joy of a large, loving Italian family. Throughout her life she cherished the memories of wonderful times ‘down the shore’ at their summer home on the Chesapeake Bay; swimming, eating freshly caught steamed crabs and enjoying homemade delicious Italian food. Growing up, she worked after school behind the counter at her parents’ luncheonette, helping her father to make and serve meals and ice-cream sundaes to the neighborhood grocery store workers. She also spent time working in her mother’s beauty salon. She graduated from Notre Dame Preparatory School in Baltimore where she met her lifelong close friend, Geraldine Lundquist. She went on to graduate from University of Maryland College Park, where she earned a B.A. Degree in Theater and Speech Communication. In the years after college, she worked in Manhattan, NY as an associate to the managing editor of Madamoiselle magazine. Around that time, she took a European cruise, where she met her future husband, Norman Rathmell. They got married and lived for 2 years in France, where Norman was stationed in the Army. Upon returning to the U.S., they moved to Norman’s home state of Colorado, where their first child, Jim, was born. After Norman earned his commercial pilot’s license and was hired by Northwest Airlines, the family settled in Burnsville, MN, where their second child, Lisa, was born. Lois put her heart and soul into raising her family in a loving home for over 20 years. While there, she met longtime friend, Marge Sandrin and another lifelong close friend and sister in Christ, Ann VanVickle. She and Ann were blessed to be a part of the Catholic Charismatic revival; it changed her life—she was born again in the Holy Spirit and stayed close to the Lord and strong in her faith for the rest of her life. When her kids were in high school, she pursued her passion for art and earned a 4-year certification from Atelier Le Sueur, a school of Classical Realism, where she became a master artist. She sold her original oil paintings in galleries across the country. Although she spent most of her adult life in Minnesota, she always held Maryland and her extended family there close to heart. She traveled there frequently over the years to spend time with them. The last 20 years of her life, she lived close to her children and spent many happy years enjoying time with them and her grandchildren, Alyssa, Christina and Matthew. She will be deeply missed and her family will always hold her close in their hearts. She is survived by her children, Jim Rathmell, Lisa (Joe) Edlund, Grandchildren; Alyssa Edlund, Christina Edlund, Matthew (Ariel) Edlund, Great-grandchildren; Melody Edlund and Lyric Edlund; Sister Janice Kotras; nephew, David Kotras and many cousins in the Ciurca family. She is preceded in death by her parents, Salvatore and Angela DeTota.
