Long-time newspaper icon passes away at 101

Approximately one month shy of her 102nd birthday, long-time Lake Region Life and Elysian Enterprise newspaper icon Bernadine Hildebrant passed away Thursday, April 13.

For more than 50 years Hildebrant worked for the local newspapers and was affectionately known as “Gramma Bernie” by many of those she wrote about or photographed during her career.

Hildebrant was born May 17, 1921 on the family farm located between Waterville and Morristown. She attended country school in Waterville and graduated from Waterville High School in 1939. She attended college at the Mankato Business College where she was the fastest typist in her class.

In 1946, Bernadine married Red at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Waterville. The couple welcomed six children: Kathi (Schoaf), Mike, John, Lisa, Mary (Laski), and Eileen (Madsen).

It was in 1966 when Hildebrant started working at the newspaper in Waterville and she worked there through her 100th birthday in 2021.

She received numerous awards and honors during her lifetime - including Le Sueur County Outstanding Senior Citizen, Green Thumb Senior Award, Minnesota’s Outstanding Senior Worker, and the Minnesota Newspaper...

To see more on this story pick up the April 20, 2023 print edition of the LifeEnterprise paper.