Garnette Battershell was born Feb.21,1908 in Pochahontas, Iowa. She graduated from Olivia High School in 1925 and  from St.Cloud Teachers College in 1926.  She married Ed Tersteeg on Dec. 27,1931. They lived in Redwood Falls, where she did some teaching and worked with her husband in the grocery store. She was a member of the Philolectian Study Club and various bridge clubs. She assisted with Cancer and Red Cross drives. She loved her family, neighbors, her home and the town of Redwood Falls.

I remember Garnette as my best friend.  Even though I was just a kid, I felt as if she was my friend, and I was hers.  When we moved to Redwood Falls in 1987, I went around the neighborhood looking for other kids.  That is when I met Ed and Garnette.  From that day forward, most days, they had at least one visitor, me.  I would go over and visit about, well, just about anything; what we did in school that day, what trouble our dogs had gotten into over the day (Muffy, Ed and Garnette’s dog, and Blacky, our dog), and just anything that came to mind.  I remember Ed and Garnette watching my friends and I as we used to sled down the very bottom of their backyard.  I remember Garnette showing me how to make simple hors d’oeuvre; things I can still make to this day. Most of all, I remember Ed and Garnette being a couple whose generosity and kindness will never be forgotten.

                        - Sarah J. Bloemke

 My memories of Garnette go back to when we first moved to Redwood Falls.  Moving to a new city is never all that easy when you’re in 6^th grade.  You leave all of your friends behind in your old town and have to meet new friends.  Ed and Garnette Tersteeg were our neighbors when we moved to Redwood Falls.  We couldn’t have ended up in a better place as far as I am concerned.  When choosing a name for this facility, the first name that came to our mind was Garnette.  I think that all of us could sit and tell stories all day about Garnette and Ed.  I can still remember them like it was yesterday.  In my mind, this was our way of thanking them for being such good friends, great neighbors, and helping us feel at home in our new home town.

                         - Roman D. Bloemke