Darleen Bernice Park

Darleen Bernice Park went home to be with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on September 11, 2025. She had recently suffered a fall and in her last days was surrounded by her loving family at St. John’s in Albert Lea.

A funeral service will be held at Faith Baptist Church in Albert Lea, MN, on Tuesday, September 16, at 1 p.m. A visitation will be held one hour prior to the service. Pastor Dwight DePenning will be officiating

Darleen was born in her grandparents’ home on May 9, 1934, to Martin and Ruby Lemke on a farm near Karlstad, MN. She would spend her first ten years living next door to her grandparents and close to cousins, which provided many fond memories.

It was at an evangelistic meeting in the little Baptist Church in Karlstad that she put her faith and trust in the finished work of Jesus at the age of 6 years old and would faithfully serve Him for the rest of her life.

When she was ten years old, her parents and younger brother packed all their personal belongings on a hay wagon pulled by a small Allis Chalmers tractor. Her favorite pony was tied to the back of the wagon, and they made the 400 mile move to southern Minnesota. After several moves, they finally settled on a farm near Huntley, MN, during her freshman year. It was there a young curly-haired boy named Lee Park bragged to the eleven classmates that he was the first to see the “pretty” new girl and vowed that he was going to marry her someday. Being true to his word, following their senior year in high school, Lee proposed to her, and they were married on October 11, 1952, at the age of 18 years old. That started a nearly 40-year marriage that ended unexpectedly when her beloved Lee died of a massive heart attack on November 23, 1991. Incredibly, she lost her dad from a heart attack on the same day. Honoring her total commitment to Lee, she chose not to remarry knowing that he was her one and only true love.

In their early married life, Lee & Darleen desired to make their dream come true to raise their three young children on the farm, but with tough times, they made the difficult decision to move to town. So, in 1959 they bought their new house in Albert Lea, next to the fairgrounds, which would be her home for the next 65 years. Her touch could be found throughout her home with good home-cooked meals, baked treats, and a special flair for decorating. Being the good sport that she was, Darleen learned to enjoy fishing, camping, boating, and sporting events as that was what family times were all about.

Shortly after Lee died, Darleen retired from Bayview Funeral Home as the office manager and found great pleasure working in her beautiful backyard. It was once featured in Albert Lea’s Parade of Homes. She loved flowers and there was no limit when it came to buying them each spring. She was an excellent seamstress and managed two fabric stores. She also enjoyed traveling, reading, folk-art painting, and hardanger.

Without a doubt the most important part of their lives was serving the Lord together at Faith Baptist Church in Albert Lea. If the doors were open, you could count on them being there, serving in any way that was needed with joy in their hearts. Darleen taught Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, enjoyed ladies Bible studies and hosted many missionaries.

Left to cherish her memory are her three children, Bonna (Gene) Brenegan of Hayward, Danny (Carolyn) Park of Blooming Prairie, and Darla Siefkes of North Mankato. Eight grandchildren, Tim (Tracy) Brenegan, Marcie (Steve) Gaylor, Katie (Brent) Erickson, Lindsay (Michael) Johnson, Jamie (Patrick) Martin, Joleen (Pablo) Correa, Missy (Blake) Greenwell, Erik (Laura) Siefkes. Brother Gary (JoAnn) Lemke, sister, Bonita (Roger) Byrd, sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law, Annette Heldman, Donna (Warren) Anderson, Eldyn (Margaret) Hartung and twenty-one great grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.

Darleen was preceded in death by her parents, husband, her mother and father-in-law, (Grace and Harold Hartung), sisters-in-laws & brothers-in-law, Maurice & Dorothy Park, Ronnie & Jackie Park, Bill Heldman and nephew Brad Lemke.

Darleen’s family would like to express their appreciation to Pastor and Sheila DePenning for their encouraging words and weekly visits. Also, to the hospice caregivers, Elisha and Joyce, for their genuine love and care. A special thanks to Bonna & Gene for opening their home and taking such wonderful care of her for the last eleven months.

The service was live-streamed, and can be watched below.