Gina Barthel

January 25, 1976 – March 17, 2026

Gina Barthel, age 50, of Elk River passed into eternal life March 17, 2026.

She is preceded in death by her father Kenneth Barthel. Survived by mother Cathy (Beaudry) Barthel, siblings: Kevin (Heidi) Barthel, Sharon (Dan) Berning, Dan (Kathy) Barthel,

Tony (Kris) Barthel, Michelle (Dave) Steele, Angela (Brian) Lenneman, many nieces, nephews, and great nieces and nephews.

Gina was born on January 25 th, 1976 into a family filled with a lot of fun adventures and competitive spirit. Working as a youth minister and later at Franciscan University, she developed a deep faith. This led to her joining the Sisters of Life in New York City. Though she left after 1 year, the sisters have continued to enjoy her yearly retreats with them. Mother Mary Concepta was one of Gina's closest friends.

After the convent, she became a nurse and found her life's work in providing hospice care. Gina always knew how to bring laughter and understanding to each family, in addition to her incredible knowledge of how to ease the dying process.

As an adult, she was a victim of clergy abuse. This terrible betrayal left her gravely wounded and feeling angry at the church. But her heart always longed to be reunited with Jesus in the Eucharist. Through the support of many counselors and friends, she not only found healing but a renewed joy in being Catholic. Her no nonsense approach made her an advocate for other victims. Gina instructed seminarians on how to deal with victims of abuse and how to set appropriate boundaries in their ministry. Bishop Andrew Cozzens journeyed with Gina for over a decade of spiritual guidance and encouragement that restored her hope for the Church and trust in God.

All who knew Gina "the great" were in love with her hilarious wit. She loved practical jokes and game nights. Because of her amazing love, she found family in many places. Special family/friends include the Brandon and Maria Wulf family, Matt and Mary Paquette family, Steve and Katie Mize family, John and Laurie O'Sullivan family, Laura Brekke, Betty Benson and many more.

But, the most attractive thing about Gina was her love. She had a way of letting you know you were loved and accepted just as you are. As she was dying of recurrent ovarian cancer, Grace Hospice provided amazing care. They kept commenting on how she knew so many amazing people and how unusual it was to have such a vast and dedicated team of friends and family. Each of these caregivers had been changed by their relationship with Gina and wanted to return the favor.

On her last retreat this January, she experienced such a deep understanding of the Lord's profound love and mercy that she lived her last weeks with uncommon grace, forgiveness and love. Her dying wish was for a holy death. Indeed her last days were a time of many rosaries, Divine Mercy chaplets, stories shared between friends and family and an overarching sense of being in the presence of something sacred. Her parting wish is that whenever you miss Gina, seek her with Jesus in the tabernacle.

Visitation

Sunday, March 22, 2026

4:00-8:00 pm

Church of St. Albert

Albertville, MN.

Concelebrated Mass of Christian Burial

Monday, March 23, 2026

11:00 am

The Catholic Church of Saint Paul

1740 Bunker Lake Blvd. NE

Ham Lake, MN

Visitation one hour prior to the Mass

(10:30 am Eulogies)

Funeral Mass will be live streamed on the

Church of St. Paul website

In lieu of flowers, memorials to

Grace Hospice,

Sisters of Life (sistersoflife.org),

and The Church of Saint Paul/Ham Lake

would be appreciated.

In lieu of sending Thank you's, the family will

be making a donation to Gina's favorite charities.