Florence Laura (Vaske) Probst, 90, passed away peacefully at home on Friday, October 23, 2026.

We lost our beloved mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother after a courageous battle with Alzheimer’s. She was a true matriarch, and along with our father, raised three generations of our family with faith, hospitality, and fun. She will be sorely missed, but following her example and the traditions she fostered, we will continue to celebrate the bonds of family and a welcoming embrace to all who enter our homes. For mom, if a visitor’s feet fit under the table, they were family and welcomed with open arms and a table brimming with food.

Florence, “Flo,” was born on January 15,1936 in Wilmont, Minnesota to Gregory and Catherine (Sturm) Vaske. She grew up on the farm and attended Our Lady of Good Counsel School in Wilmont. She attended the St. Mary’s School of Nursing, receiving her diploma in 1956. She worked as a registered nurse at St. Marys Hospital until she returned to Wilmont where she worked at the Worthington Hospital before marrying Stanley Francis Probst in 1958. She raised her four children and returned to work at St. Marys Hospital and later at the Mayo Clinic, where she was a member of the hematopathology team. She retired from the Mayo Clinic in 1998 and jumped headlong into a busy retirement life of auctions, estate sales, casinos, visits to family, and travels with friends. It was not unusual to call home to find them gone and then call the rest of the family to ask if anyone knew where they had gone “this time.”

The Probst house was always a place for gathering - for neighborhood kids, work colleagues, friends, and family. Many will remember their annual Christmas Tom-and-Jerry parties. Family gatherings always featured wonderful food and card-playing. We fondly remember stories of their weekend-long card games with Eve and Bob Galagan, and with card clubs and their friends Jim and Mary Hanson. She passed on this love of cards to her grandchildren through many games of Kings-in-the-Corner. Flo will be remembered for her cookies, pies, cakes, and celebration feasts. Her grandchildren fondly remember helping her bake cherry pies and thumbprint cookies. Holiday meals were more festive with the fine china, crystal, and linens that graced her table.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her brothers Francis (Norma) and Leo (Joan), and her sisters Mary Jo Hoffman (Stanley) and Eleanor Hoffman (Allen). She is survived by her husband of 68 years, Stan Probst, her four children and their spouses, Laura, Tony (Joyce), Timothy (Martha), and Mary Olsen (Michael). She will be missed by her grandchildren, Troy (Meryem Dede), Kelley Shepherd (Zachary), Dan (Trinh To), Jeff, Jacob (Emily Harper), Andrew (Anna Menezes), Zachary Olsen, and Katherine Olsen; and her great-grandchildren Oliver, Theodore, Marshall, Florence, and Ayla Dede; by her remaining brother, Joseph (Karen); our great family friend Kelsey Bruso; and her many cherished nieces and nephews.

The Memorial Mass will be held at Noon on Wednesday, November 4, 2026 at St. Francis of Assisi Church, with visitation at 11:00am. Luncheon will follow in the River Park Reception Hall at Macken Funeral Home.

Memorials to St. Francis of Assisi Church are preferred, or to the donor’s choice.