Obituaries

Wilhelmine Rose (Walleser) Finkral, 94, of Lansing peacefully passed away surrounded by her family January 26, 2024. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, February 9, with visitation one hour prior at Immaculate Conception Church in Lansing. A luncheon will follow the services at T.J. Hunters.

Born December 2, 1929 in Manitoba, Canada, Wilhelmine, fondly known as “Willi,” was the daughter of John and Anna Walleser. She grew up on a small dairy farm near Lansing, one of 12 children. Willi received her education at Immaculate Conception High School in Lansing before attending Briar Cliff College in Sioux City, where she earned a degree and teaching certificate. She dedicated almost 40 years to teaching at Sioux City public and parochial schools, before retiring.

Mary Lou Blaschke, 82, of Sumner died Saturday evening, January 27, 2024 at Copper Creek Senior Living in West Union. Funeral services were held Saturday, February 3 at St. John Lutheran Church in Sumner with Rev. Tracy Hinkel officiating. Burial followed at Union Mound Cemetery in Sumner.

Memorials may be made in Mary Lou’s name to St. John Lutheran Church or SEMS, both in Sumner. Becker & Son Funeral Home in Sumner assisted Mary Lou’s family. Online condolences may be left at www.beckermilnesrettig.com.

Mary Lou, daughter of Louie and Nellie (Biermann) Wedemeier, was born March 22, 1941 at the family’s home, rural Tripoli. She was baptized April 20, 1941 at St. Peter’s Evangelical and Reformed (now Faith United Church of Christ) in Tripoli and confirmed April 3, 1955 at St. John Lutheran Church in Sumner. Mary Lou received her education in the Sumner Schools and graduated from Sumner High School in 1958.

Julie Ann Ryan, 75, of Cedar Rapids passed away Sunday January 28, 2024 at St. Luke’s Hospital. Celebration of Life gathering will be from 2-5 p.m. Saturday, February 10 at Brosh Chapel and The Avacentre in Cedar Rapids, located at 2121 Bowling Street SW.  The family asks that everyone attending please wear casual attire.

Julie was born July 24, 1948 in Postville, the daughter of Lynn and Lillian (Russell) Winters. She graduated from Waukon High School, class of 1966. Julie was united in marriage to Raymond “Spike” Ryan May 13, 1967 in Waukon. She worked at Rockwell Collins and retired from Intermec.  Julie enjoyed baking, reading, boating, dancing, but most of all spending time with her family and spoiling the grandchildren.

Tommy W. Thomson, 80, of Waukon died Saturday, January 27, 2024 at Northgate Care Center in Waukon. Memorial services will be held Saturday, February 3 at 11 a.m. at First Presbyterian Church in Waukon with Pastor Grant VanderVelden officiating. Burial will follow at Oakland Cemetery in Waukon.

Friends may greet the family from 3-7 p.m. Friday, February 2 at Martin - Grau Funeral Home in Waukon. In lieu of flowers and gifts, memorials may be made to Veterans Memorial Hospital or Northgate Care Center, both in Waukon.

Thomas William Thomson was born June 26, 1943 in Waukon, the son of Lester “Bill” Earl and Ann Laurayne (Guider) Thomson. A lifelong farmer, Tommy farmed with his parents in the Waterville area while attending Waterville School; in 1961, Tommy graduated from Waukon High School and went on to attend Iowa State University’s winter quarter farm operation program.

Jami R. Kasemeier, 39, of Waukon died unexpectedly Sunday, January 21, 2024 in Waukon. A service will be held Thursday, February 1 at 7 p.m. at Martin - Grau Funeral Home in Waukon with Pastor Ken Kimball officiating. Friends may greet the family from 3 p.m. until the time of services Thursday at the funeral home.

Jami Rachel Kasemeier was born January 7, 1985 in Des Moines, the daughter of Roger and Julie (Beckman) Jones. She attended school in New Hampton and Cresco, and later received her GED. Jami moved to Waukon in 2014 and worked at Good Samaritan Society as lead cook and at Kwik Star as a guest service leader.

Betty Bodley, 100, of Waukon died Sunday, January 28, 2024 at Northgate Care Center in Waukon. A private family memorial and burial will be held at a later date in Baxter. Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon is handling arrangements.

Betty Jane Tipton was born April 12, 1923 in Ames, the daughter of Milo and Emma (Pleshek) Tipton. She grew up in Baxter. October 26, 1941, Betty was united in marriage to Ted Bodley and they celebrated 73 years of marriage. After moving from central Iowa, she and Ted farmed many years in the Maynard, Postville and Waukon areas.

She was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Fayette. Betty was very talented; she cross-stitched and sewed beautifully. She was a fantastic cook and loved baking apple pies and making fudge with Ted.

Mary Lynn (Gearhart) Campbell, 62, passed away January 18, 2024 peacefully at her home in Evergreen, CO of complications from metastatic breast cancer. In accordance with Mary’s wishes, there will be a private family memorial service followed by a celebration of life to be held in Evergreen, CO in the spring. Please visit www.evergreenmemorialpark.com to leave condolences and share memories.

Mary was born October 10, 1961 in Lamar, CO, the youngest daughter of Richard and Anna Gearhart. She moved to Waukon in 1970 and graduated from Waukon High School with the class of 1980.

Kenneth Joseph Leppert, 89, of Lansing entered his eternal, heavenly home Monday, January 22, 2024. Funeral services were held Saturday, January 27 at the United Methodist Church in Lansing with Pastor James “Buck” Buckhahn officiating. Burial with military honors was at Oak Hill Cemetery in Lansing. Ken has requested that memorials be given to the Lansing Rural Fire Department and/or Lansing Emergency Medical Services (EMS), 51 North Front Street, Lansing, IA 52151.

Kenneth Joseph Leppert was born June 16, 1934 in Waukon to Florence (Bechtel) and Dewey G. Leppert. He was baptized and confirmed in the Congregational Church in Churchtown. He attended French Creek #4 School through seventh grade and graduated from Lansing Public High School in 1954. Ken entered the U.S. Army in September 1954 and served 18 months in Okinawa, Japan; he was honorably discharged in September 1956.

Agnes M. Anderson, 97, of Waukon passed away peacefully Friday, January 19, 2024 at Northgate Care Center in Waukon. Funeral services will be held Wednesday, January 24 at 12:30 p.m. at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Waukon with Pastor Bryan Robertson officiating. Burial will be at Old West Paint Creek Cemetery, rural Waukon. Friends may greet the family from 10:30 a.m. until the time of services Wednesday at the church. The family would like to invite friends to a celebratory lunch beginning after the church service; the family will join them after the burial.

Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon is handling arrangements. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the Allamakee County Food Shelf, St. John’s Lutheran Church, or to a charity of choice.

Jim J. Byrnes, 95, of Waukon died Saturday, January 20, 2024 at Good Samaritan Center in Waukon. Funeral services will be held Wednesday, January 24 at 11 a.m. at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Waukon with Fr. John Moser officiating. Burial will be at Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Waukon. Friends may greet the family from 10 a.m. until the time of services Wednesday at the church.

Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon is handling arrangements. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to a charity of choice.

James “Jim” Joseph Byrnes was born August 9, 1928 in Waukon, the son of John Francis and Eleanor (Link) Byrnes. He was baptized and confirmed at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Waukon. Jim graduated from Waukon High School. He served in the United States Army in the early 1950s.