Sonja Fay (Sielaff) Herbert, age 87, of Osseo, Wisconsin, went to be with her Lord and Savior on October 9, 2025, at the Cambridge Senior Living Center in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. She was born on March 1, 1938, in Whitehall, Wisconsin, the daughter of George and Hazel (Lee) Sielaff.

Sonja attended Pleasantville School through 8th grade and graduated in 1956 from Whitehall High School where she was involved in choir, musicals and Badger Girls State. Sonja and Cordell C. Herbert fell in love in high school. After Cordell returned home from being stationed in Germany, they married on May 25, 1957, in Pleasantville, Wisconsin. They moved to Chicago, Illinois where Sonja worked as a secretary at Shriners Corporate Headquarters. In 1959, she and Cordell moved to Whitehall, WI where they had two daughters Natalie and Lori. In 1965 they moved to Osseo, Wisconsin, where they owned the bowling alley together with Sonja's sister and her husband. After selling the bowling alley, Sonja became a secretary/paralegal for the Osseo lawyer's office where she worked until retirement.

Sonja was a devoted and loving caregiver to her husband. She was spunky, strong-willed, supportive, caring, fun and full of life. She loved to talk and tell stories, support and cheer on her children and grandchildren, competitively play board and card games with family and friends, teach her family about Norwegian cooking traditions like lefse, travel, and golf. Every year Sonja and her family would get together to have Lefse Making Day, it is a tradition that her family will forever cherish.

Sonja is survived by her daughter Lori (the late Dean) Sanders; son-in-law Steve (the late Natalie) Velie; grandchildren Joshua (Rachel Mohr-Velie) Velie, Danielle (Mark) Prissel, Tairyn (Ryan Frank) Velie, Bret Sanders, and Kara (Trevor) Howells; great-grandchildren Brynleigh Prissel, Beckett Prissel, and Eira Velie. She is also survived by her sisters Rosemary (Sielaff) Berg and Georgia (Sielaff) Nelson; and brother George Sielaff.

She was preceded in death by her husband Cordell Herbert, daughter Natalie Velie, parents George and Hazel Seilaff, son-in-law Dean Sanders and sister Kathryn (Sielaff) Thompson.

Services will be held at a later date.