A funeral service for Robbi Tonsfeldt, age 65, of Spirit Lake, will be held Wednesday, September 25, 2024, at 10:30 AM, at First Presbyterian Church in Spirit Lake. A visitation for Robbi will be on Tuesday, September 24th, from 5:00-7:00 PM, at Turner Jenness Funeral Home in Spirit Lake.
Robbi Beth Tonsfeldt passed peacefully while surrounded by family on September 18th, 2024, at Avera Heart Hospital in Sioux Falls.
She was born on June 24th,1959, in Renton, Washington, to Robert and Shirley Kay. The family settled in Minnesota where Robbi spent most of her youth and then attended college at Iowa State University. There, at the age of 18, she met future husband James Tonsfeldt and the two have been happily married since August of 1980.
Robbi worked as a tax assessor until moving to Omaha in 1984. She then became a residential fee appraiser and continued her career for many years, much of that time working with Jim. While in Omaha, they started a family and eventually built a home in Gretna, Nebraska, to share with their two children. In 2005, Jim and Robbi had a mid-life crisis and moved to Illinois to help in the management of a Harley-Davidson dealership that they had invested in. The Harley life brought travel and many adventures over the next 6 years. In 2011, they returned to their ‘real life’ as real estate appraisers, this time in the Des Moines metro area where Robbi started her own business. Robbi retired in June 2023 and relocated with Jim to the Iowa Great Lakes to bae closer to family.
Robbi loved to keep busy, even in retirement. She especially enjoyed time with her grandchildren and life on the lake. Her hobbies included reading, gardening/landscaping, family games, and attending concerts, theater, Iowa State and Viking football games. She also enjoyed long walks with their dog Zoey, RV camping and traveling around the world to visit friends and family.
Robbi recently became a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Spirit Lake. The loss of her son Jason in April was devastating and seemingly more than her heart could bear. She was greatly loved and will be deeply missed.
Robbi is survived by her loving husband and best friend, Jim; daughter, Shannon; daughter-in-law, Ali; grandchildren, Jordis Jenner, Jaida Jenner and Joseph Tonsfeldt; parents, Robert and Shirley Kay; brother, David (Wendy) Kay; sister, Lisa Kay; aunts, Barb Slater and Denise Lease; mother-in-law, Deloris Mulder; sisters-in-law, Lisa (Donna Rath) Tonsfeldt, and Ann (Hans) Hoffmeister; brother-in-law, John Tonsfeldt; nephews, Gustav (Krissy, Hedwig & Arthur) Hoffmeister, Heinrich Hoffmeister, Hans August Hoffmeister, Cole (LaRee) Rath, Jared (Rachel, Corbin & Zack) Rath; nieces, Elisabeth (Torben, Edgar, Agnes, & Fritz) Bauman, Lina Hoffmeister, Amara Rath and Evelyn Rath and her dog daughter Zoey.
She was preceded in death by her son, Jason; her uncles, Bill Slater and James Lease; and fathers-in-law,Wallis Tonsfeldt and Ed Mulder.
Turner Jenness Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
