Anna May Emily Thies was born November 10, 1922 at the family farm in Centerville, MN, the only child of Roy and Stella (Courteau) Houle.  She attended grade school in Centerville, graduated from Holy Angels Academy, and attended St. Cloud State Teachers College.  Anna May married Arnold Paul “Bud” Thies on April 11, 1942 at St. Genevieve. The couple began farming with her parents, taking over the farm on their own in the mid-1960s.  She worked hard as an equal partner on the farm, milking the cows morning and night, raising chickens, and growing a large garden. Anna May was proud of the fact that she lived in the same house from her birth until 2010 when she moved to Hudson to be closer to her son Jim and daughter-in-law Cheri.

She resided at the Wintergreen Apartments until this past summer when her health precipitated a move to the Christian Community Home.

Anna May loved her family and friends, her home (especially mowing her lawn), and her church. She was active at St. Genevieve, for many years the meal hostess for the annual picnic and working funeral lunches. She enjoyed a good party, playing cards, fixing roast pork/beef dinners for her family (with lots of mashed potatoes for her daughters-in-law and red Jello for her grandkids), traveling with Bud before his death in 1995, spending time at their cabin in northern Minnesota, working as an election judge (her Better Than Robert Redford dessert was legendary), and watching her grandchildren and great grandchildren in all of their activities.

Her family is most grateful to the care of the staff at the Christian Community Home and to the staff of Adoray Home Health & Hospice, especially Mary Ellen, for all they did for Anna May.

Anna May was preceded in death by her mother and father; her husband, Arnold; her daughters, Susanne Tesch and Anne Thies; her daughter-in-law, Joyce Thies; and her son-in-law Don Tesch. 

She is survived by her two sons, Arnold Thies of Upper Arlington, OH and Jim (Cheri) Thies of Hudson, WI; five grandchildren: Paul (Becky) Thies, Melissa (Bryan) Almaguer, James (Lissa) Thies, Kairsten Thies (Will Porter), and Megan Thies; and seven great-grandchildren: Natalie, Alexander, Daniel, Joseph, Jackson, Harrison, and expected in July, Baby Thies Porter.

Mass of Christian Burial will take place 10:30 a.m., Friday, May 13, 2016 at The Church of St. Genevieve, 7087 Goiffon Road, Centerville, MN, with visitation one hour before Mass at church.   Interment at St. Genevieve Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please make a gift to the St. Genevieve’s Council of Catholic Women.