GUNKELMAN, Mildred (Mim)

Mildred (Mim) Gunkelman, 98, of Scottsdale, AZ, passed away on Friday, January 29, 2010. Mildred (Mim) Gunkelman, 98, was born on March 26, 1911 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  She was the daughter of Nels O. Welander and Ida (Quist) Welander. Mim married Ray Hansen on November 29, 1934 in Minneapolis. She lived most of her life in the Minneapolis-St.Paul area and then moved and retired to Scottsdale, Arizona in 1978. Her first husband Ray passed away in 1979 after they moved to Arizona.  On April 2nd, 1983, Mim married Lloyd L. Gunkelman (formerly of Fargo) in Scottsdale, Arizona. Lloyd passed away at the age of 88 on October 10th, 2002. For the past 7 years Mim has been a resident at Westminster Village in Scottsdale. Mim’s family were actively involved in the mortuary business in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area for many years where they owned and operated the Welander-Quist funeral homes that were established by Mim’s father back in 1905. Mim's father (Nels O. Welander) was a well known mortician in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area and was believed to be the oldest practicing mortician in Minnesota before he passed away. The family owned mortuary business was sold in 1983 to Washburn-McReavy which currently own and operate funeral chapels in the Minneapolis-St. Paul.  Mim loved to travel, entertain her friends, paint, read books, garden, golf, and dance. Mim was a member of the Scottsdale Artists League, Twin Cities Opera Guild (past president and Emeritus Director), Scottsdale Art School Associates, Phoenix Art Museum, Scottsdale Center for the Arts, Desert Forest Golf Club (Carefree, AZ), Arizona Country Club (Phoenix AZ), Town & Country Club, St. Paul, MN, Scottsdale Club, and Valley Presbyterian church in Paradise Valley, AZ. Mim touched the hearts of everyone she met. People enjoyed her very positive attitude, great sense of humor, charm, wit, endless energy, and her great zest for life. She was still golfing, painting, and dancing into her early 90’s. Mim is survived by her sister Ruth Bragarnick, Lantana, FL; daughter Carolyn Sato, Cave Creek, AZ; son Phillip (Ann) Hansen of Chaska, MN; Step-daughters, Judith (Del) Lamphere St. Cloud, MN; Mary (Leo) Wadekamper, Helena,MT; grandchildren, Christopher Bucholz, Scottsdale, AZ; Becky (Frank) Vorderbruggen, Perham, MN; Jeffrey (Char)Wadekamper, Helena, MT, Geoff Hansen, Minneapolis, MN; Gregg (Mazy) Hansen, New York City, NY; Maki Sato, Salt Lake City, UT; Kai Sato, Los Angeles, CA. Preceding Mim in death were her parents (Nels and Ida Welander); husbands (Ray Hansen and Lloyd L. Gunkelman); and a sister, Gertrude Swanson.