'Mamie' Leth

Meta F. “Mamie” Leth, 96, longtime St. Paul resident, died Thursday, Jan. 3, 2019, at Brookdale Grand Terrace in Grand Terrace, California. Services will be 1 p.m. Friday at Christ Lutheran Church in St. Paul. The Rev. Thomas Clark will officiate. Burial will be in the Elmwood Cemetery in St. Paul. Visitation will be one hour before time of services at the church. Peters Funeral Home of St. Paul is assisting the family. Mamie was born on May 3, 1922, in the Gage Valley area near Palmer, the daughter of Henry and Elizabeth (Bader) Helzer. Mamie grew up in the Gage Valley area and attended Gage Valley country school and St. John's parochial school in Palmer. She was baptized and confirmed in the St. John's Lutheran Church. She was united in marriage to Clarence Leth on June 6, 1942, in Glendale, Calif California. After the War, she and Clarence returned to St. Paul. In 1949, the couple took over Knothe's Cafe and operated it as Leth's Cafe for four years. In 1954, they purchased McIntyre's IGA grocery store, changing the name to Leth's IGA, which they operated for 31 years until their retirement in 1985. The continued to live in St. Paul the rest of their married life. Clarence died on Sept. 14, 2013. Shortly after his death she moved to Grand Terrace, California to be near her sons. She was a charter member of Christ Lutheran Church of St. Paul and Carl Mogensen American Legion Auxiliary Unit 119 also of St. Paul. Mamie was a loving mother, grandmother, aunt, friend and member of the community. She is survived by two sons and a daughter-in-law, Douglas and Vicki Leth of Grand Terrace, Calif., and Rance Leth of Canyon Lake, Calif.; and two grandsons, Ross Leth and Truitt Leth. In addition to her husband, Clarence, she was preceded in death by her parents; sisters, Emma Knothe and Frieda Oakeson; and three brothers, Albert, Walter and Mike Helzer. Memorials are suggested to Christ Lutheran Church or to the family's choice.