NEW ULM–Chiyo Tews, long-time resident of New Ulm, passed away peacefully on Feb. 22 at Kingsway Retirement Living in Belle Plaine, Minnesota. A memorial service for Chiyo will be held on Saturday, May 10, 2025 at 11 a.m. at Minnesota Valley Funeral Home-SOUTH CHAPEL in New Ulm with the Rev. Scott Oelhafen officiating. Visitation will be from 9:30 to 11 a.m. on May 10, prior to the service, also at the South Chapel.To leave an online condolence or sign the guestbook, please visit mvfh.org.

Chiyo was born on Dec. 3, 1930, in Niigata, Japan to Suizo and Chii Takahashi, the youngest of five children. In 1945-1946, she attended dressmakers’ school in Niigata, which launched her lifelong sewing skills. She worked in a dressmakers’ shop until it closed in 1947. Her other jobs in Niigata included railroad-car cleaner and as a maid and nanny for a U.S. Army colonel’s family. She moved with the colonel’s family to a military base in the Tokyo area in 1951. At a USO dance, she met a U.S. Army soldier, Gilbert Tews, and the two started dating. Gilbert and Chiyo were married in Tokyo by Pastor Fred Tiefel, a Lutheran missionary, on June 11, 1953. When Gilbert was discharged from the Army, the couple moved to her husband’s hometown of New Ulm. Chiyo became a naturalized citizen of the United States on May 28, 1957.

Gilbert and Chiyo raised two children, Christine and David, and built a house on the south end of New Ulm. Chiyo worked for over 20 years at the 3M plant in New Ulm, but also worked at the Wear Well Garment Factory and at Windings, Inc. Her favorite hobbies were cooking, gardening, sewing, and craftwork.She also enjoyed music, dancing, and playing cards and other games like dominoes.

Chiyo was preceded in death by her husband Gilbert; parents Suizo and Chii (Itagaki) Takahashi; sister Saki Oshima; and brothers Kazuo, Masae, and Takeo Takahashi. She is survived by her daughter Christine (Norman) Lentz; son David Tews; grandchildren Gregory (Jennifer) Lentz, Alexandra Lentz (Noah Vannevel), and Megan (Todd) Marino; great-grandchildren Avery, Adeline, Arden, and Ailiana Lentz; and many nieces and nephews.

Prior to moving to Kingsway in Belle Plaine, Chiyo was a long-time member of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm and was active in the quilting group.

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