Grace Robertson, 82, Owatonna

Grace Elizabeth Robertson was born Jan. 16, 1940, at the Newport Naval Hospital in Newport, Rhode Island to Roberta Leonard and was raised in several orphanages and foster homes in the Providence, Newport, and Tiverton, Rhode Island areas. When Grace was 16, she met and married James Robertson and together they had three children: Carol, James and Peter. Grace later divorced her husband of 16 years and continued to raise her children on her own, going back to school to earn her G.E.D. and receive mechanical drafting instruction. Grace then moved to Alcester, South Dakota where she worked as a junior drafter for the Alkota Company for 12 years. She later was called to work for the AaLadin Industries, in Elk Point, South Dakota, as one of their drafters. In Elk Point, she lived by herself on a farm where she raised chickens, sheep, pigs for a neighbor, and the first of many cats in her life.

She enjoyed the outdoors; cutting her own firewood for heating, working with the animals, etc. Due to circumstances beyond her control, she had to leave the farm and return to Alcester where she worked for the nursing home in the kitchen and laundry department. Grace also was a full-time volunteer with the Alcester Ambulance Service for four years, going on over 400 emergency calls with the team. Grace moved to Owatonna in 1994, following friends who had moved there. Over the years, Grace worked at Cash Wise, Kenyon Residence, and ultimately retired from Truth Hardware in 2006. She then returned to school through Crown College in Owatonna, to pursue the lifelong dream and desire to become a missionary. She proudly graduated from Crown College in 2010. While attending Crown, she worked at Park Place Senior Living and made many friends there. In July of 2010, to live out her dream and the mission she felt compelled to when she first gave her life to the Lord at the age of 13, Grace decided to move to Kamenka, Ukraine. So, Grace left all she had, including her cat, (her beloved and constant companion). She had already fallen in love with the place and the people there, having been on five short-term mission trips between the years of 2000 and 2006. Grace helped with the eldercare outreach through the local Baptist church and was appreciated by all those whom she so selflessly served. After a year, with difficulties obtaining adequate Visas, Grace was forced to return to Owatonna. She then found work at Visiting Angels, helping people with in-home care until her final retirement in 2017. Grace finished out her last couple years living at Timberdale Trace until her passing, but her heart and mind were always either in Tiverton or Kamenka. Grace’s Life Verse: I am confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in me will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ‘s return. Philippians 1:6A Celebration of Life to remember Grace will be Wednesday, July 27, 2022 from 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. at Brick-Meger Funeral Home. Any gifts received will go toward a tree to be planted at the Fairgrounds in her memory. Or you may donate to organizations that meant a lot to her: KinshipChristianRadio.org or the Steele County Humane Society.