Delores Elizabeth Kroll, 85, of Crookston, MN, a beloved daughter, sister, aunt, and dedicated healthcare professional, passed away peacefully on May 4, 2024, at the Villa St. Vincent in Crookston. She was born the youngest of three girls on September 25, 1938, in Grafton, North Dakota, to parents, Roman and Bernice (Kaliszewski) Kroll.
Delores spent the early years of her life briefly in Grafton before the family moved to Stephen, MN in the early 1940s, where she spent her adolescent years growing up on a farm. While in high school, she would babysit for a neighbor who was a Nurse and found herself fascinated by the neighbor’s medical books. Delores graduated from Stephen High School in 1956 and, having discovered her passion for the medical field, went on to the Thief River Falls Nursing Program from which she graduated with her LPN certification in 1957. Before graduating, Delores had managed to secure a job at St. Francis Hospital in Crookston, where she worked for thirteen years until the hospital merged and became RiverView Health.
Always seeking to enhance her skills, and in those times needing her father’s permission to do so—which she received—Delores went to Nashville, Tennessee to attend the Cardiovascular Education Program from which she graduated in 1971. She was one of the first LPNs at a National Cardiac Care Conference to receive a specialty certification. After she returned to Crookston, she and her sister Anastasia “Nettie” built a house together where they lived and took care of each other for fifty-two years.
Delores led a fulfilling career as a Licensed Practical Nurse, most anybody in Crookston that stepped foot into RiverView had no doubt seen Delores in her starched whites, rounding the floors; she was well known for her cardiac care savvy.
Delores was a member of the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception where she served as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion, which she found great joy in. Her selfless nature, acts of kindness and gentle spirit touched the lives of many and will be fondly remembered by all who had the privilege of knowing her.
Delores is lovingly survived by her nieces and nephew: Delphine (Gordon) Pietruszewski, of Strandquist, MN, David Kostrzewski, of Stephen, MN, Eleanor (Robert) Berberich, of Fargo, ND, Adell (David) Kuznia, of Thief River Falls, MN, Denise (John) Grandstrand, of Stephen, and Sheryl Kostrzewski, of Thief River Falls; as well as many great-nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, Roman and Bernice Kroll; Sister, Anastasia Kroll; and Sister and Brother-in-Law, Helen and Roman Kostrzewski; and a Great-Nephew, Cary Berberich.
Delores’s family would like to extend their gratitude to all of her friends who enhanced her life in Crookston throughout the years, as well as to Faye Overgaard, who’s friendship brought a lot of comfort to Delores in her final weeks and days.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests a donation to Hospice of the Red River Valley be made in Delores’s honor.
Let us cherish the moments shared with her and carry forward the legacy of kindness and compassion she embodied. She will forever remain in our hearts as a shining example of grace and love. May she rest in eternal peace.
The Funeral Mass honoring Delores’s life will be on Friday, May 10, 2024, at 2:00 PM, at the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception in Crookston. Visitation with the family will be one-hour prior to the service. Interment will follow a reception at St. Stephen Cemetery, in Stephen, MN, at 4:30 PM. Please visit www.stenshoelhouske.com/obituaries and follow the prompts to Delores’s obituary page for more information.
