Lenore Kaste

1931 - 2025

Apple Valley - Lenore Karine Bilden was born Dec. 18, 1931 in Northwood, ND; the 3rd child of Oliver & Dagny (Skurdahl) Bilden. Siblings include Mona & Paul, Audrey, Becky & Peter. Lenore and her sisters worked at the Bilden Drugstore soda fountain scooping ice cream, making malts & sundaes. After graduating from Northwood H.S. she considered it a privilege to follow in Mona's footsteps attending St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN. In her sophomore year she fell in love with a senior, Winston Grant. While she completed her Home Economic & Art degrees, he attended Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN. Following her graduation Lenore & Winston were married in Northwood on June 14, 1953. The newlyweds moved to the Black Hills where Lenore taught school while "Win" interned at Trinity Lutheran Church- Rapid City, SD. Stephen Paul Grant was born August 1954 in Northwood. In 1955 Winston became an ordained Lutheran pastor at his home church, Grace Lutheran of Waseca, MN. His first call took the family to Wisconsin to serve Mindoro Lutheran & Lewis Valley churches where Lenore loved being a pastor's wife especially baking for the Norwegian events. In May 1958 daughter Karen Jean was born. In the spring of 1960 the family moved north to Bagley, MN near the headwaters of the Mississippi River where Pastor Winston served Faith Lutheran Church. In Bagley the family grew to include James Matthew in 1960 & John David in 1962. Sadly Win died of colon cancer Feb. 1967 leaving Lenore with 4 young children to raise. Memorial donations were used to build Ngateau Lutheran Church in Arusha, Tanzania in honor of Winston, as friends David & Eunice Simonson were missionaries there - Operation Bootstrap Africa. The family moved south to Albert Lea where she taught Home Ec. & Art. While attending a church event in Mankato, Lenore met Earl Madsen (a widower with 4 children - James, Lynell, Thomas & Andrea) who lost his wife Ellen to cancer. They fell in love and were married March 19, 1969 at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Mankato, MN. Friends referred to the Madsen family as the Brady Bunch! Together Earl & Lenore became a host family to Sam Oyegbile of Nigeria & were American Cancer Society Ambassadors in honor of Ellen & Win. A cabin was built on Lk. Elysian where lots of great summer memories were created. They enjoyed travelling for business and pleasure. Tragically Earl passed away suddenly Sept. 1973. Several family graduations & weddings later Lenore & her children moved to Owatonna. She met Rev. Hugh Kaste (son Matthew) in Mankato where he was a counselor for Lutheran Social Services. Lenore & Hugh married at Trinity Lutheran Church in Owatonna Dec. 17, 1983. They established a home in New Brighton in 1984. They were active in church choir & Bible studies & Lenore provided grief counseling to those in need. Their travels took them to Hawaii, Brazil, Tanzania Africa, Papua New Guinea (Joel & Nell - missionaries), Norway, Germany...to name a few. Purchasing a home in Sun City, AZ they became "snow birds" near sisters Mona & Audrey. Moving to Northfield, MN brought them close to Lenore's beloved St. Olaf. Together they joined in many facets of church life at Bethel Lutheran. Eventually they would move into Assisted Living and following a stroke Hugh would pass away in July 2019. Lenore's final home was Orchard Path of Apple Valley, where she was adored by residents & staff for her kindness and gratitude. Lenore's faith in God & love of family were values instilled by her parents, which grew throughout her lifetime and gave her the strength to carry on and enrich the lives of others. Those who knew her will not forget her smile, enthusiasm, willingness to serve, her excellent cooking and entertaining. Preceding Lenore in death were her parents, husbands: Winston, Earl & Hugh, sister Mona (Herb) Lund, brother Paul & Annabelle Bilden, brother Peter Bilden; and Jeff Larson, James Madsen & Rodney Seals. Lenore is survived by children Stephen (Ruth) Grant-MN, Karen Larson (Stephen Moede)-WI, James (Melanie) Grant-MN, John (Cara) Grant-MN, Charlene (Ivan) Clark-SD, Lynell (Joel) Anderson-WI, Thomas (Joan) Madsen-MN, Andrea (Jon) DePreter-FL, Matthew (Miki) Kaste-Japan. She's also survived by sister Audrey (Ed) Gordhammer-OH, sister Becky (Barry) Bowles-KS, sister-in-law Mary Bilden-IA, sister-in-law Gloria (Bob) Wynnemer-MN & many nieces & nephews. Lenore's 17 beloved grandchildren are: Kara (David) Seiffert, Grant (Michelle) Larson, Gregory Larson, Marlene (Ryan) Clayton, Lauren (Mitchell) Nelsen, Mariah (Joshua) Johnson, Noah Grant, Laura (Hal) Spencer, Katie (Seth) Purcella, Jenny Seals, Isaac (Sonja) Anderson, Ellen Anderson (Dan Jesse), Maren Anderson(Alex Hudson), Timothy (Angela) Madsen, Allen Madsen (Hillary Burton), David Madsen, Joshua (Veronica) Kaste. Lenore was also blessed with 16 great-grandchildren: Brayden & Natalie Lenore, Leah & Leighton, Rowen & Wells & Cedric, Juniper, Danielle & Rachael, Rhiannon & Noah, Elyse & Carter, Luke & Jacob. In lieu of flowers if you want to donate in Lenore's memory give to your local church or place of worship. A memorial service will be held at 11 AM, Saturday, March 22, 2025, at Bethel Lutheran Church in Northfield. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the church and reception will follow at the church. Interment will be held at a later date in Woodville Cemetery in Waseca. Arrangements are with Bierman, Benson & Langehough Funeral Home. www.northfieldfuneral.com