MANLY — Freida Irene Baumann, 91, formerly of Manly, died Monday, October 26, 2026, at Good Shepherd Health Center in Mason City. Her life spanned decades of farming, raising four sons and making a home in several North Iowa communities.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, October 31, at Grace Lutheran Church, 302 E. Fourth St., in Hanlontown, with Pastor Linda Johnson Prestholt officiating. Visitation will take place at the church from 10 to 11 a.m. Inurnment will be at Brush Point Cemetery in rural Hanlontown.
Freida was born August 23, 1935, in Albert City to Albert H. and Sophia (Griffel) Beckfield. She grew up near Thompson and graduated from Thompson High School in 1953.
On January 20 of that year, she married Ernest Baumann in Elmore, Minnesota. They raised four sons—Ernie Jr., David, Eugene and Steven—and worked together on the farm. Their years together took them to Buffalo Center, Hanlontown and later Manly. They celebrated 40 years of marriage before Ernest died June 16, 1993.
Freida also worked at Winnebago Industries, retiring in 2000. She later spent several years working at Walmart.
At home, she put her skills to work with a needle, thread and crochet hook. Sewing and crocheting were among her favorite activities, along with gardening and maintaining her lawn. Puzzles offered another way to occupy her time, and she enjoyed having something to work on.
Grace Lutheran Church in Hanlontown was a lasting part of Freida’s life. She was a longtime member of the congregation and also belonged to the American Red Cross.
Her family grew to include ten grandchildren and numerous great-grandchildren. Through the changes and losses of a long life, her children and the generations that followed remained central to her.
Freida is survived by her sons, Ernest C. (Marlys) Baumann Jr. of Mason City and Steven G. (Nancy) Baumann of Manly; ten grandchildren; numerous great-grandchildren; and siblings Lewis (Diane) Beckfield, Alice Schannuth, Geraldine Beckfield and Ginger Lyle.
Also surviving are Ernest’s siblings, Karen Wagenaar and Barb Kabe; sister-in-law Cheryl Baumann; and many nieces, nephews, extended family members and friends.
She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Ernest; sons David and Eugene Baumann; siblings Martha Rathburn and Albert Beckfield Jr.; Ernest’s siblings Kenny (Helen) Baumann, Ronald Baumann, Auggie Baumann, Harold Baumann and Ruth (Norb) Park; and brothers-in-law Robert Lyle and Armin Schannuth.
Memories and condolences may be shared through Freida’s tribute page at Colonial Chapels.
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