OBITUARIES

Barbara Tegeder

Barbara M. Tegeder, 90, of Apple Valley, died Jan. 30, 2006.

Barb completed business courses at the Minnesota School of Business and later worked as bookkeeper and office manager for the Norblom Plumbing & Heating Co., as a secretary for the Crane Plumbing Co., and as secretary at Bjorkman Furs, Inc. in downtown Minneapolis.

A well-known local vocalist, she took vocal lessons from Alice Pratt and in 1932 she studied under Otto Jellison. During her high school days, she took part in many school operettas and musical programs. She also sang for a short period with “The Four Tones in Their Teens” over radio station WCCO during 1932-33 and later, in 1935, was a vocalist with several local orchestras during their playing engagements at the Minneapolis Athletic Club, at the Nicollet and Radisson Hotels, at Charlie’s Cafe Exceptionale, and other locations.

She married Robert M. Tegeder in September 1936 in Minneapolis.

She was preceded in death by loving husband, Robert, and brother, John Norblom.

She is survived by children, Robert Jr. (Rufina), James (Marlene), and Barbara (Charles) Bahn; 10 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Visitation and Mass of Christian Burial were Feb. 1 at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Rosemount. Interment was at Fort Snelling National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials will be donated to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.

Arrangements were completed by White Funeral Home, Apple Valley.

South Obituary: Barbara Tegeder, Apple Valley

Apple Valley

Last update: February 08, 2006 – 2:09 PM

Apple Valley

Barbara Tegeder, 90; 'Music was everything to her'

Whether it was singing on the radio, around a piano with her family or in the audience of her grandchildren's performances, Barbara Tegeder never let go of music.

And while she performed professionally for only a short time and before her children were born, they said the gift of music was one of the best things Tegeder gave them.

"Music was everything to her," son James Tegeder said. "She always loved to sing."

Tegeder, an Apple Valley resident, died Jan. 30 after suffering respiratory failure as a result of pneumonia. She was 90.

Born in 1915, she completed business courses at the Minnesota School of Business and held a variety of bookkeeping and clerical jobs at Minneapolis businesses in the 1930s.

Tegeder also had a short career as a vocalist during that time, singing on "The Four Tones in Their Teens" program on WCCO radio from 1932-33.

She also sang with local orchestras in 1935, performing at the Minneapolis Athletic Club, Nicollet and Radisson Hotels and Charlie's Cafe Exceptionale, among other locations.

She married Robert Tegeder on Sept. 23, 1936. The couple settled in south Minneapolis, and had three children.

It didn't take long for Barbara Tegeder to make music a big part of their lives, either.

Barbara Bahn, Tegeder's daughter, said the family's piano was often the center of attention.

"We would sing around the piano as a family," Bahn said. "And she always made a point of singing to us on our birthdays."

If music was Tegeder's favorite hobby, travel had to be a close second.

James Tegeder said the family made a point of taking cross-country road trips every summer -- so many that he estimates he has driven to every state in the continental United States.

"We would go pretty much anywhere you could drive reasonably," he said. "They taught us all the history of what we were going to see. Those trips were a lot of fun."

And when she retired in Apple Valley, with her family scattered across the country, Barbara Tegeder still managed to stay involved.

"Two of her grandchildren were involved in Hurricane Katrina, and she would usually find out about them before I did," Bahn said. "She always came to anything my daughters were involved in, especially recitals or performances. Her joy was personal interaction."

Tegeder is survived by three children (Robert Jr., James and Barbara) as well as 10 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Services were held Feb. 2 at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Rosemount.

BEN GOESSLING