Judith Anne "Judy" Stenbeck

Judith Anne "Judy" Stenbeck, 68, of Harmony, died Thursday, Oct. 31, 2013, at Saint Marys Hospital in Rochester.

Services will be held at Greenfield Lutheran Church in Harmony Monday, Nov. 11, at 11 a.m., with Pastor Betsy Dart officiating. A one-hour visitation will precede the service.

Judy was born March 1, 1945, in St. Boniface, Manitoba, Canada, to Esther Overland. At age three months, she was adopted by her maternal aunt and uncle Alvin and Laura Stenbeck. In 1946, the family moved to Harmony, the birthplace of Laura and Esther. She attended Harmony public schools and then Winona State College. She married Richard Armstrong in 1967 and taught junior high English, first at Harmony and then at Frank B. Kellogg in Rochester. She gave birth to two sons, Alan and Eric before divorcing. In 1979, she married Gary Haugen of Lanesboro and briefly relocated to New Mexico. In 1987, she divorced again and returned to her hometown of Harmony.

From 1976-1979 and from 1984-2002, Judy worked for SEMCAC. Most of those years were spent as an outreach specialist, which she found to be especially fulfilling work. She later valued the customer interactions made at Wal-Mart in Decorah, Iowa, as a cashier, customer service manager and greeter.

In 1995, she began a very close and devoted relationship with Dean Olson of Harmony. In particular, Judy considered Dean's children and grandchildren as her own.

Judy loved to spend her time fishing, cooking and dancing. She also found great enjoyment participating in the Greenfield Lutheran choir.

Her adoption was kept secret from most family and friends until the final months of her life. Eventually, she was able to connect with her half-siblings, who had previously known her as a cousin. This was a great gift and comfort to her.

Judy is preceded in death by her birth mother, Esther Lester (Overland); parents, Alvin Stenbeck and Laura Stenbeck (Overland); second husband, Gary Haugen; and half-sister, Sylvia.

She is survived by sons, Alan (Alexandra) Armstrong of Roseville and Eric (Callie) Armstrong; grandsons, Grayson and Gabriel of Marshall, Wis.; partner, Dean Olson and his children and grandchildren; and half-siblings, Donna, Lyle, Sydney, Paul and David, all of Canada.