Lorraine Curto

Lorraine M. Curto, age 97 of Melrose, passed away peacefully, surrounded by her family on Friday, April 24, 2026 at the Cura Care Center in Melrose, Minnesota.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, April 30 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Melrose with Rev. Mitchell Bechtold officiating. Interment will be at 2 p.m. at the Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery in Little Falls.

Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Patton-Schad Funeral Home in Melrose and from 9 to 9:45 a.m. Thursday at the church. The VFW Auxiliary will pray at 4 p.m. followed by parish prayers at 7 p.m. Wednesday evening at the funeral home.

Lorraine Marie Grahek was born April 30, 1928 at home on the Iron Range in Keewatin, Minnesota and graduated from Keewatin High School in 1946. She was united in marriage to James Curto on June 29, 1946 at Saint Mary’s Catholic Church in Keewatin, Minnesota. Lorraine worked as a waitress for a summer in Washington D.C. when she was 17 years old and also worked as a bartender at Cal’s Bar in Keewatin. The couple moved to St. Cloud where Lorraine worked at Fingerhut and at the St. Cloud Hospital in sterile processing. They eventually moved back to the Iron Range where Lorraine worked at the Virginia Clinic as the central supply material manager. Lorraine and Jim moved back to Melrose in 1996.

Her first church was St. Mary’s in Keewatin and her last church was St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Melrose. Lorraine was very active at church and served as a lector, sacristan, Eucharistic Minister, St. Mary’s Mission Group, and helped with funeral meals and Faith in Action. She was a member of the Christian Mothers, Catholic United Financial, and Schanhaar-Otte VFW Post 7050 Auxiliary, and a volunteer at Meals on Wheels and the American Red Cross.

Lorraine enjoyed many activities including bowling, quilting at the Senior Center, and working at the VFW Auxiliary events. She was an excellent cook with some of her specialties being spaghetti, lasagna, and sarmas. When it came to baking, her favorites included cookies, potica, muffins, and bars. Lorraine enjoyed going out for breakfast with church friends, watching Wheel of Fortune and EWTN, working puzzles and word finds, playing cards and board games, and reading. She enjoyed traveling abroad and visited many countries and cities including Washington D.C., Jerusalem, Germany, Medjugorje, Croatia, and had been on many cruises. Lorraine traveled all over the United States including World Youth Day with three grandchildren in Colorado. Family gatherings for whatever reason were very important to Lorraine.

Survivors include her children, Pat (Pam Krueger) Curto of Rice, Dolly Curto of Aurora, Colorado, Nancy (Greg) Peters Salem, Oregon, Jeannie Curto of Foley, Diane Brum of Sartell, Toni (Joe) Borgerding of Elrosa, Brandan (Mary) Curto of Sauk Rapids, Char (Jim) Darlington of St. Cloud, and Jimmy (Sheila Kritta) Curto of Deer River; 27 grandchildren, 37 great-grandchildren with one on the way, and two great-great-grandchildren with two on the way.

Lorraine was preceded in death by her husband, James “Jim” Curto on March 4, 2004; infant son, Angelo; grandson, Carl Borgerding; son-in-law, Mike Brum; sister, Rosalind Oliva; and brother, Rudy Grahek.