Staff photo by Clay Schuldt A $10,000 donation from the Rodewald family and a $10,000 matching donation from Gislason & Hunter law firm will help create the Rodewald Legacy Fund to help Minnesota Valley Funeral Home continue to provide free funeral services for families who have lost an infant. From left, Gislason & Hunter Attorney Rhett Schwichtenberg, the Rodewald family (Aaron, Kori and Aaron Jr.) and Minnesota Valley Funeral Home Director Dan Baltramonas and General Manager Eric Warmka.

NEW ULM — Minnesota Valley Funeral Home (MVFH) received a surprise donation that will help them continue to offer free funeral services for families facing the loss of an infant.

The donation was used to create the Rodewald Legacy Fund. The initial money for the fund came from Kori and Aaron Rodewald who experienced the worst tragedy a young family can face. Their seven-month-old son Charlie died in a bassinet on Feb. 28, 2019. The bassinet was recalled two weeks after.

“It was very devastating for us,” Kori Rodewald said. “My husband was working full-time and I was a full-time student staying home with the little ones. It was pretty crushing for us; emotionally, mentally, but also financially.”

The Rodewalds said people do not understand the costs connected with an infant’s death.

“No one tells pregnant women to get life insurance,” Kori said. “You don’t think of things like that.”

Charlie’s father Aaron Rodewald said their son had been a healthy boy. There was no reason to expect or plan for something like this.

The Rodewalds were in a financial crisis immediately following Charlie’s death. They wanted to give their son a proper funeral to honor his memory and grieve him, but they were not in a financial position to do that. They even considered taking out a loan to cover the funeral costs.

The couple met with MVFH funeral director Dan Baltramonas to begin working on the process of paying for a funeral. The Rodewalds were surprised to learn from Baltramonas that the cost of the service and staff time would be donated.

For years, MVFH would waive charges for an infant funeral. Few were aware of this offering. The Rodewalds said they were shocked.

“It was hard to accept,” Kori said, “yet we needed it. The one thing that is really important when you lose someone is being able to let them pass and have a ceremony that is special. When you know you can’t afford it, it dampens the grieving process.”

With the cost of the funeral covered, the Rodewalds were able to focus the emotional work of grieving Charlie.

Kori and Aaron were astonished by MVFH’s generosity; especially since they were new to the community. The family was not native to the New Ulm area. The funeral home did it out of pure generosity.

In the two years since Charlie’s death, the Rodewalds were able to rebuild their financial situation and moved to Courtland, but they never forgot the kindness of MVFH in their time of need.

“You don’t forget a kind gesture like that,” Kori said.

“It is something from the heart,” Aaron said.

The family wanted to create something to carry on Charlie’s legacy and make sure any donation ended up in the right hands. MVFH was a clear choice.

To show appreciation to MVFH and to benefit other families, the Rodewalds donated $10,000 to the funeral home to help create the Rodewald Legacy Fund.

The donations did not end there. The Rodewalds went through the Gislason & Hunter law firm to donate. After learning about it, Gislason & Hunter law firm agreed to give a matching donation to MVFH. The Rodewald Legacy Fund now totals $20,000.

Rhett Schwichtenberg was the Gislason & Hunter attorney who worked with the Rodewalds. He said, “it is always important to support the community; especially with a loss like this”.

Schwichtenberg said his firm was aware of how much the funeral home helped the Rodewalds in their time of need and this was an opportunity to further help; even if it was only to provide financial peace of mind for other families.

MVFH was astonished to learn of the donation. General Manager Eric Warmka said they were blindsided by the donation.

“This is an amazing donation,” he said. “We didn’t even know we had touched the Rodewald family in this way.”

MVFH has placed the $20,000 in a special account that will be used to continuing cover funeral costs for families who lost an infant.

Warmka said MVFH has always waived service charges for infant funerals. He said any loss is difficult for a family, but with infants, it is especially difficult. Usually, it is a young family experiencing the loss and money is an issue.

“The stress of how to afford a funeral is not something a family should be thinking about at a time like this,” he said.

MVHF is a non-profit community-owned funeral home. The Rodewald Legacy Fund will assure families that suffer the worst tragedy will not have to worry about the financial burden of the funeral service. Warmka said on average, MVFH handles six infant funerals a year. It is, fortunately, an uncommon occurrence, but it does happen and this money will fill a need.

Warmka said there is a psychological benefit for families to hold a service for lost infants. It helps with the grieving process. This fund will further help other families facing the worst loss imaginable

The Rodewalds are hopeful this fund will help others who suffer this tragedy, but also get people thinking about those who help during difficult times.

The Rodewalds said these little generosities can show that a community can come together to help in the worst of times.