Lynn (Swensen) Ronsberg, age 91, a resident of Covenant Living of Golden Valley, went to her Eternal Home with Jesus on October 19, 2021. Lynn was born to Sidney and Mary Swensen in Chicago, IL. She graduated from South High School in Minneapolis and married Vern Manning. After becoming a single parent of four children in 1961, Lynn worked for Consolidated Papers in Chicago for 24 years.
In 1974, Lynn learned that there were support groups for separated and divorced Catholics being held in neighboring parishes. Lynn became very involved and eventually started a newsletter providing information to these groups on a local and national level. She was on a speaker’s panel that went to various churches in Chicago, Indiana and Michigan telling her story of the pain of divorce, and the growth she was experiencing in these support groups. Lynn was instrumental in getting her newsletter into the hands of John Cardinal Cody and in 1978 Cardinal Cody formed the Archdiocesan Office of Pastoral Care for Separated and Divorced Catholics, later called The Phoenix Office for Separated and Divorced Catholics, and she became the editor for a new magazine called PHOENIX.
Lynn married William “Bill” Hanson in 1979. They met while working with support groups for the separated and divorced. In October 1982, at the annual conference, Lynn was presented the Phoenix Director’s Award for her work on the magazine. As a tribute to the ministry, Lynn put together a special issue entitled, The Best of the Phoenix. This magazine was considered the best of its kind in the United States. After Bill died in 1985, Lynn resigned as the editor of the Phoenix magazine and went to work as the Director of Marketing for a nonprofit organization, Rainbows for All God’s Children. The Rainbows program, a curricula offered in schools and churches, is for children living in single parent families and stepfamilies. Rainbows was especially meaningful to Lynn because she knew the pain her children went through after her divorce and wanted to make sure the program would be there for other children. Lynn retired from Rainbows in 1995 at the age of 65.
In December 2000 Lynn moved to Mount Miguel Covenant Village in San Diego, California where she met and married the love of her life, Lester Ronsberg, a dear man who loved the Lord with all his heart. Each day Lynn and Les thanked the Lord for their marriage, their love for each other, and their love for the Lord. The Lord took Les Home on Christmas Day 2009. In 2010 Lynn moved to Covenant Living of Golden Valley to be closer to her children and their families.
Lynn will be deeply missed and lovingly remembered by her children: Kay (Craig), Mary, Stephen (Jennifer) and Tracey (Steven); 18 grandchildren: Dan (Stephanie), Julie (Matt), Nathan, Justin (Carissa), Katherine (Brandon), Michael (Melissa), Matthew (Kristina), Ashley (Taylor), Rachelle, Lily and Jacob; 15 great-grandchildren: Jonah (Lianna), Willow, Valkyrie (Torin), Devin, Isabella, Kaiden, Landon, Brady, Lincoln, Sebastian, Madelyn, Amelia, and Adeline: two great-great-grandchildren: Kieran and Freya; and her beloved soulmates, Ann Cavallo-Hartnett and Michael Hartnett.
A Celebration of Lynn’s life will be held on April 1, 2022 at 10:00 am at Covenant Living of Golden Valley, 5800 St Croix Ave N, Golden Valley. Memorial Donations in Lynn’s name may be made to Covenant Living Golden Valley Benevolent Care 5800 St Croix Ave N, Golden Valley, MN 55422 or Rainbows for All Children 614 Dempster St, Suite C, Evanston, IL 60202.
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