Cecelia Grieser

Cecelia (Minugh) Grieser, 89, passed away peacefully on February 28, 2026, surrounded by the enduring love of her family and under the compassionate care of the staff of Pelican Landing and Hearts in Action (HIA) Hospice in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota.

Cecelia Minugh was born to Celia (Phares) and Alfred ‘Mac’ Minugh on May 26, 1936, at Harlem, Montana. The youngest of ten, she was the last surviving member of her immediate Minugh generation. Her earliest years and best memories occurred on the family ranch near Dodson, MT, on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation.

Growing up on the ranch sparked Cecelia’s imagination, creativity, strong work ethic, and love of adventure. Nicknamed ‘Tootie’ by her family, the curious little girl who searched for a legendary peanut tree on the banks of People’s Creek saw much of the US and Japan before she turned 21. After moving to Minnesota, she raised 9 kids, ran a dairy farm, wrote a popular newspaper column, and re-entered the workforce at age 55, serving as a dental assistant at White Earth Indian Health Service until her retirement at age 77. Cecelia genuinely liked everyone and was liked by all who knew her. Active in the American Legion Auxiliary, she was proud of her family’s extensive military and civilian service to our country.

Cecelia personified sass, strength, service, and faith; those traits not extinguished by the effects of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease in the last years of her life.

After graduating from Hoquiam, WA high school in 1954, Cecelia enlisted in the Women’s Army Corps (WAC). She married Jared Donovan ‘Don’ Grieser in Hoquiam, WA on August 15, 1959, a 56-year union that ended with Don’s death in 2015. The newlywed couple moved to Minnesota, eventually settling on an Audubon farm where they raised their 9 children - Cheryl (Roger) Nord, Greg (Deb Nelson) Grieser, Teresa (Dave) Page, John Paul (Lori Vogt-Oswald) Grieser, Mary (John) Bekkerus, Christine (Randy Zortman) Herman, Jim (Karen) Grieser, Dan (Jaclyn) Grieser, and David (Elizabeth Merten) Grieser.

Cecelia’s legacy includes more than 50 grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She is survived by her children and their families, honorary son Mark ‘Sky’ Nelson, ‘always family’ Leesa, Carol, Clay, Eric, Jim, Julie, and Adriana, sister-in-law Sue Knott, a prolific extended family of nieces, nephews, and their families, and a large community of friends.

Cecelia is predeceased by her husband Don, her parents, Alfred and Celia, brothers Ralph, Douglas, George, John and wife Mary Jane, and Alfred ‘Hoot’ and wife Molly; sisters Helen and husband Wally Dvorshak, Donna ‘Bum’ and husband Norman Sitton, Florence ‘Blu’ and husband Marshall Wells, Carol ‘Duck’ Minugh, mother- and father-in-law Catherine and Christian Grieser, in-laws Joanne and Glenn Stehman, Joel and Joyce Grieser, Fred Knott, and 3 grandchildren, Serenity, Steven, and Trinity.

Please join the family as we celebrate Cecelia’s life and legacy on March 6th at David Donehower Funeral Home in Detroit Lakes. Visitation starting at 4:00 pm with a service at 6:00pm.