Verna (Swart) Sabin

Verna Sabin, age 93, of Lake Wilson, died Thursday, February 10, 2022, at the Pipestone County Medical Center in Pipestone, MN.  She was born October 27, 1928, at Rice Memorial Hospital in Willmar, MN, to Wieber and Evelyn (Bauman) Swart. She was the oldest of three children and grew up on the Swart family farm in the Prinsburg area. Verna attended country school through the eighth grade and graduated from Clara City High School in 1946. She was active in 4H and church choir.  She had many cousins and they enjoyed getting together for picnics, roller-skating and kitten ball.

Verna married Marvin Peterson in 1951.  Marvin was in the U.S. Airforce and the couple lived in Michigan, Colorado and then Lake Wilson.  They had one son, Terry Lee.  The couple later divorced.  Verna married Donald Sabin on June 22, 1958 at the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Lake Wilson.  They lived on the Sabin family farm that Donald’s grandfather started in 1901.  In 1964, the couple adopted a girl, Mari, from Lutheran Social Services.  Don and Verna enjoyed traveling to Northern MN, Arizona, Florida, and Verna’s trip of a lifetime, to Hawaii.

Don and Verna enjoyed participating in a weekly card club. Verna was an avid ceramist and began taking classes in 1965 in Pipestone.  In 1983, Verna bought a kiln and started her own ceramic business.  She had many students throughout the years.  She was very proud to have worked with the Bible school students making sure they would paint their own nativity set and build their own stable. She was a homemaker, doing the usual sewing, gardening and canning.  Verna had a huge strawberry bed that kept the family fed all year, always a treat in the winter time with ice cream. In 1999, Verna was diagnosed with colon cancer. Her daughter, Mari, moved home to care for both her parents. Verna sang in the church choir and was a member of the Lake Wilson women’s auxiliary.  She was an avid birdwatcher and kept daily bird count.  Verna also enjoyed playing Scrabble, doing jigsaw and crossword puzzles.  She looked forward to Mari’s college friends coming every year for a farm party.  On August 1, 2020, she was proud to host the wedding of Dr. Terry and Dr. Mallory Jorgenson.

Verna is survived by her two children, Terry Sabin, Arizona; and Mari Sabin, Lake Wilson; grandson, Eric Sabin, Fargo; three great grandchildren, Cydney Sabin (Jesse Engen), Avery, and Farrah, all from Fargo.  Nieces and Nephews include, Greg Swart, Gail (Deb) Swart, Geraldine Swart, Brad and Heidi Swart and Chris and Shari Swart, and good family friends Scott, Val, Zoey and Dylan Rugel and Dr’s Terry and Mallory Jorgenson.

She is preceded in death by her parents; husband, Donald on December 6, 2015; and two brothers Kenny (LaVonne) Swart; and Gerald (Carol) Swart.

A Graveside service will take place at a later date in Raymond, MN