Throughout 60 years of marriage, Lynda Lee Corrow stood quietly by her husband’s (David’s) side. When he was off serving his country in both the Navy and the Air Force, Lynda stayed at home: raising their family, contributing to their community and keeping the home fires burning. When David returned, people would often stop and thank him for his service. But, David noted, no one ever thanked Lynda for the sacrifices she had made. And he didn’t think that was fair.

“She might not have worn a uniform, but she served this nation just as much as I did,” David said. “I wanted to make sure that commitment to our country was honored at the end of her life. My mission was to see that we would be together, forever, when the time came.” On Tuesday, August 8, Lynda Lee Corrow became the first spouse to be laid to rest with a cremation interment at the new Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery - Redwood Falls.

David described Lynda, his high school sweetheart, as someone who took care of everyone and everything, someone who lived for family, friends and neighbors. According to David, no matter what Linda did, she did it well: making quilts, riding a motorcycle, playing musical instruments, working her way up to management at her job and volunteering as a deacon and bible school director. “One time I was deployed, she even single-handedly saved our boat from a flood. Lynda supported my military career, saw us through good times and bad and never complained once about the time I was gone.”

Lynda died unexpectedly in 2021 from a late diagnosed cancer. David knew that the Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery - Redwood Falls would be opening in 2023, so he kept Lynda’s ashes on their home mantle and waited. Like Lynda’s favorite bible verse, 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a, “Love is patient, love is kind…love never fails. Love endures all.”

On August 8, the wait was over.

David, who always called Lynda his “angel,” described the transition of her remains from their home to the Cemetery as an angel flight, with family escorting her ashes via motorcycle through Ramsey Park.

“Life really does come full circle,” Dave shared. “When I first moved to Redwood Falls as a teenager, my parents couldn’t find a place to live in town, and we rented a farmhouse on Highway 19. That farmhouse was right across the road from where the State Veterans Cemetery now stands.”