Jeanette E. “Nettie” Pfannenstein

Memorial Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, November 17, 2026, at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in St. Joseph for Jeanette E. “Nettie” Pfannenstein, age 84, of St. Joseph. Fr. Bradley Jenniges, OSB, will officiate.

Nettie passed away peacefully surrounded by her daughter and other loved ones on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, at St. Therese of Oxbow Lake in Brooklyn Park.

Visitation will begin at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, at the St. Joseph Parish Heritage Hall. Inurnment  will take place at the parish mausoleum following Mass.

Nettie was born on November 14, 1941, in St. Joseph, Minnesota, to Florian and Agatha (Schroeder) Ketten. She graduated from St. Cloud Cathedral High School and studied English at Northeastern College in Boston and St. Cloud State University. Nettie married Robert “Bob” Pfannenstein on July 2, 1977, at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in St. Joseph.

Nettie was a fiercely independent woman, and her early adult years were filled with adventure. At age 24, she packed up her Volkswagen Beetle and moved to Boston without a job or even a place to live. There she created a new life for herself, attended college, worked in bookkeeping and insurance, traveled both overseas and throughout the United States, and made lifelong friends. She also lived in Puerto Rico, Texas, and Georgia before returning to Minneapolis and eventually to St. Joseph, where she married the love of her life, Bob, and started a family.

She worked in office management at Catholic Charities and Caritas Family Services in St. Cloud. A highlight of Nettie’s career was serving as executive assistant to Bishop John F. Kinney of the Diocese of St. Cloud before her retirement.

Nettie had a zest for life, a great sense of humor, and a friendly, kind, and generous nature. Family was at the heart of her life. She was an incredibly loving, supportive, and generous mother and shared a very strong bond with her daughter, Sara. She spent her married life living on the same block as her sister, Lori, and developed especially close relationships with her nephews and niece and, later, their spouses and children. They became like second children and grandchildren to her.

Of all the roles she held throughout her life, one of the most cherished was that of being a grandmother. She was a playful, devoted, and endlessly loving grandma who made her granddaughter, Hayley, feel treasured, celebrated, and deeply loved. Hayley was truly the center of her world, a fact that was unmistakable to everyone who knew her. The love she had for Hayley was boundless, and being her grandma brought her a special kind of joy that she held close to her heart.

She had a deep Catholic faith and was devoted to St. Joseph’s parish. She served as a trustee, lector, cantor, and choir member, and participated in countless committees and parish fundraisers.

Nettie is survived by her daughter, Sara (Nate) Goese of Brooklyn Park; granddaughter, Hayley; and many nieces, nephews, grandnieces, grandnephews, relatives, and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Bob; sisters, Betty Gillitzer, Mary Gamades, Loretta “Lori” Pfannenstein and Carol; and brother, Robert.

The family expresses its heartfelt gratitude to the staff at St. Therese of Oxbow Lake in Brooklyn Park, SilverCreek on Main in Maple Grove, and North Memorial Hospice for their outstanding and compassionate care.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred.