Viola Just

January 21, 2021

Viola Just, age 96, of St. Louis Park and formerly of Granite Falls, died January 21, 2021 at Towerlight Assisted Living in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. A Celebration of Life for family and close friends will be held on Saturday, April 17, 2021 at 11:00 AM at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Wood Lake. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service at the church. Interment will follow in the church cemetery. Social distancing will be enforced and masks are required. Viola Lillian Just was born on July 4th, 1924, near Granite Falls, Minnesota to Walter and Selma (Schlenner) Kirschbaum. She died on January 21, 2021 in St Louis Park, MN, after battling Alzheimer's and Covid-19. She was 96. Viola attended school in Granite Falls, and graduated in 1942. On September 12, 1943, she married Harlan Just, and they settled on a farm near Wood Lake, MN. After Harlan’s retirement, they spent their winters in Tucson AZ. With Harlan’s passing in 1990, Vi decided to make Tucson her permanent home, and lived there until 2005. Together, Harlan and Vi raised four children: Vicki Gerke (Dennis), Kathryn Just, Gary Just and Pamm Oliveira (Alan). They also had twelve grandchildren: Lori Doehling (Kent)), Michael Gerke (Stacie), Sara Gerke, Eric, Chris, Trevor, Jason and Ryan Chapman, Dana Kilde (Matt), Nathan Chapman (Angela), Elise Quast (Eric), Emlyn Oliveira, and many great-grandchildren. Vi will always be remembered for her feisty and adventurous spirit. She loved travelling, surprised her children by riding in a hot air balloon and sky diving in her seventies, and genuinely enjoyed the time that she was given. She loved to flower garden, read, solve crossword puzzles, play Scrabble, watch Shirley Temple movies, and spoil her grandkids. In Tucson, she could be found helping her friends go to appointments and running their errands, and at times, volunteering at shelters. Vi was preceded in death by her husband, Harlan, children Vicki and Gary, her parents, Walter and Selma, and siblings Vernette (Nelson), Willard, Gordon, Mildred (Betts), and Wallace. She will be missed.