Geraldine "Geri" Mahlen, 85 of Watertown, passed away on Wednesday, December 5, 2018. Funeral services will be at 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, December 11, 2018 at Lutheran Church of Our Redeemer in Watertown with Pastor Kent Stillson officiating. Robbyn Givens will be the soloist accompanied by A.J. Sherrill. Visitation will be 5-7 p.m., Monday, December 10th at Wight & Comes Funeral Chapel in Watertown. Burial will be at Mt. Hope Cemetery, Watertown, SD. In lieu of flowers, memorials will be designated by the family. Geraldine Ilet Mahlen was born April 5, 1933 to Gustav and Inga (Hove) Moen at the Moen Homestead farm near Roslyn, SD. She attended rural schools and eventually her family moved to Watertown, SD where she graduated from Watertown High School in 1951. She attended summer school at Northern State University in Aberdeen, SD where she graduated in 1969, with her teaching degree. On August 15, 1953 she married Virgil Mahlen at Grace Lutheran Church in Watertown. He was in the Army from ’53 – ’55 during the Korean conflict so they lived in Oakland, CA for 2 years. After that, they returned to SD and lived in Webster, and then Watertown where she continued teaching. She taught at numerous rural one room country schools. After moving to Watertown, she taught 5th grade at McKinley School for 22 years. She was a member of Circle Bible Study at Lutheran Church of Our Redeemer and Grace Lutheran Church, President of the local chapter of Sons of Norway, SD Retired Teachers Association, a member of Lutheran Church of Our Redeemer and of Grace Lutheran Church. She loved making lefse for the Nordefest, going to kid’s and grandkid’s sporting events (and MN Twins Baseball), attending concerts, reading books, and singing in Church Choir. In 1999, she traveled to Norway with her daughter Kay for the trip of a lifetime to explore her Norwegian heritage. She also traveled to San Francisco, Boston, New York, and Eden Prairie, MN to visit her son Kirk. After retirement, she spent much of her time babysitting her grandchildren. She loved spending time at numerous lake resorts in the summers. Her special friend “Otis” the pug loved Grandma Geri’s walks to and from Nelson Park. She is survived by her three children, Kirk (Kathy), Kay (Roger Amdahl), and Kelly (Jackie) in addition to her grandchildren, Erika (Greg Messler), Nicole (Travis Van Well), Janik, Domenik (Brittney), Morgan; her great-grandchild, Teagan; her sister, Irma Opitz; and many other relatives. Geri will be missed by her children, grandchildren, great-granddaughter, sister Irma Opitz, nieces, nephews, and numerous relatives and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents (Gustav and Inga), her husband, Virgil, and siblings Doris, Noel, Marvin and Gene.