Isabel “Topsy” G. Krohn, age 100, of Willmar, died Monday afternoon, August 16, 2010 at Bethesda Pleasantview Nursing Home, Wilmar, Minnesota.

Isabel was born March 13, 1910 on the family farm in rural Wannaska, Minnesota,to Alfred and Hulda (Johnson) Ranum. Isabel’s mother died when she was 13 years old. She then went to live with her aunt, Frieda in Montana, where she attended Fairview High School. She married Leon Bates. They lived in Minneapolis before moving to Willmar in 1930. They later lived on Diamond Lake. Leon died in 1968. Isabel married Elmer “Brick” Krohn in 1973 and they lived in Willmar. Elmer died in 1988.

Isabel worked in retail at the S & L Department Store, C. Suzanne and Thompson’s Ladies Wear in Willmar. She was a member of the United Methodist Church in Willmar. She enjoyed reading, cooking and baking. Isabel was a great mother and loved spending time with her family and friends.

She is survived by three sons, Chuck (and Ruth Ann) Bates of Waconia, Jack (and Joan) Bates of Duluth and Daniel (and Gerrie) Bates of Willmar; a daughter, Nancy (and Harold) Haugen of Roseville; a daughter-in-law, Ellie Bates of Willmar; 19 grandchildren; 39 great-grandchildren and several great-great-grandchildren; a brother, Sydney Ranum of Viking; two half-sisters, Margaret (and Delano) Lind of Savage and Deloris (and Sheldon) Forland of Shawnee, MO; and many other relatives and friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents; two husbands, Leon Bates in 1968 and Elmer Krohn in 1988; a son, Robert Bates; a grandson, Kevin; 3 sisters, Elsie, Florence and Alice; 6 brothers, Johnny, Sanford, Stanley, Glenn, Lloyd, and a brother in infancy; and a stepbrother, Maynard.

Memorial services were held August 20, 2010 at the United Methodist Church in Willmar. Visitation was held one hour before the church service. Arrangements were with Peterson Brothers Funeral Home in Willmar.