Obituaries

Bonnie J. King, 79, of Mason City died Monday, March 2, 2015 at home.  Memorial services were held Friday, March 6 at Major Erickson Funeral Home in Mason City, with Pastor Kathy Graves of Trinity Lutheran Church officiating.  Inurnment will take place in Memorial Park Cemetery.
Bonnie was born December 21, 1935 in Mason City, the daughter of Hans L. and Nettie B. (Hamson) Hjelle. She attended schools in Mason City. Bonnie married Frank Smed and the couple had three children, Kai, Rod and Nina. They later divorced. Bonnie married Keith E. King November 25, 1975 in Clear Lake.
Bonnie was well known for her love of animals.  She enjoyed her work at a small animal clinic, and was happiest with a small dog at her side. Bonnie took pride in her yard and spent countless hours outside, working on yard decoration upkeep and projects. She delighted in painting saw blades with landscapes or animal themes.

Alan Oscar Nyberg, 70, of Prairie du Chien, WI, formerly of Postville, died Saturday, February 21, 2015 at Gundersen Lutheran Health Systems, La Crosse, WI. Funeral Services were held Thursday, February 26 at Schutte-Grau Funeral Home and Cremation Service, Postville, with Greg Hamm as the Officiant. Burial will be at a later date in Postville Cemetery.
Alan was born October 20, 1944 in Postville to Allard and Jacqueline (Lane) Nyberg. He graduated from Postville High School and attended Upper Iowa University in Fayette, where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in business administration. Alan was united in marriage with Katherine Handke in 1968; they later divorced.

Vincent Raymond Dougherty, 78, of Central City, formerly of Prairieburg, died Monday, March 2, 2015 at the Promise House in Hiawatha. Funeral Mass will be held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, March 5 at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Prairieburg.
Scripture Service will be held at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 4, with visitation to follow from 4-8 p.m. at Murdoch Funeral Home & Cremation Service in Central City. The family will also greet friends one hour prior to the service at the church. Burial will be in St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery in Prairieburg.
Vincent was born May 3, 1936, the son of Johnnie and Anna (Haas) Dougherty in rural Waukon. He graduated from Waukon High School and attended Kirkwood Community College. September 9, 1961, he married Elsie Marie Harwood at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Marion.
Vincent served with the U.S. Army during peacetime. He worked for the Iowa Department of Transportation, District 6 paint crew, retiring in 1997.

Gale Arthur Ludeking, 90, of Waukon died Wednesday, February 18, 2015 at his home in Waukon. Memorial Services were held Saturday, February 21 at Salem United Church of Christ, rural Waukon, with Rev. Susan Klimstra as the officiant. Inurnment will be held at a later date at the Salem United Church of Christ Cemetery, rural Waukon.
Gale Arthur, the son of George Arthur and Cynthia (Miller) Ludeking, was born January 29, 1925 at his family’s home in Glenwood Township, Winneshiek County. He attended country school at the Pagan School and graduated from Waukon High School in 1943. Gale enlisted in the U.S. Army, serving in the Philippines and he was part of the Occupation Force of Japan. After he returned home, Gale was a buyer for Oscar Mayer Meat Packing in Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois.

Melvina Delores Pearson, 81, of Waukon, formerly of Postville, died Saturday, February 21, 2015 at Northgate Care Center in Waukon. Memorial Services were held Wednesday, February 25 at Schutte-Grau Funeral Home and Cremation Service in Postville, with Rev. Gary Catterson as the officiant. Inurnment will be held at a later date at the Postville Cemetery, Postville.
Melvina Delores was born February 11, 1934 in Farmersburg to Orville F. and Emily E. (Schultz) Nuehring. She was baptized and confirmed at Luana Lutheran Church. Melvina was united in marriage with Ralph V. Pearson June 18, 1954 at the Little Brown Church in Nashua.
Melvina attended Luana School, Luana. She worked as a nanny in Dubuque, she worked for Iowa Turkey Products in Postville and for Monona Wire in Monona for over 20 years. Melvina lived on the Pearson family farm in Hardin Township all of her life until she moved to Northgate Care Center in Waukon.

John P. Berg, 72, of Marshall, WI died Thursday, February 26, 2015 at the University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison, WI. Mass of Christian Burial was held Monday, March 2 at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Lansing, with Rev. John Moser as the Celebrant. Burial followed at Gethsemane Cemetery, Lansing.
John Peter, the son of Barney and Bernice (Albright) Berg, was born July 27, 1942 in Minneapolis, MN. He graduated from high school in 1960. John was united in marriage with Colleen Guider in 1971 in Kansas City, MO. He was a supervisor with Winnebago Industries for several years before becoming employed with Ruan Transportation and retiring in 2006.

Timothy Raymond Troester, 43, of McGregor died Monday, February 16, 2015 at Crossing Rivers Health in Prairie du Chien, WI. Funeral Services were held Friday, February 20 at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Monona, with the Rev. Erika Kielstrup officiating. Burial followed in Pleasant Grove Cemetery, McGregor.
Timothy was born November 20, 1971 in Dubuque to Raymond and Janis (Hamann) Troester. Timothy was baptized and confirmed at St. Paul Lutheran Church, McGregor. He graduated from MarMac High School in 1990 and continued his education at UW-Platteville and then transferred to Upper Iowa University, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in business. Timothy was united in marriage with Darcy Winters March 9, 2011.
Timothy was a valet at Lady Luck Casino in Marquette for 14 years. He also worked at The Tractor Supply and Universal Forest Products in Prairie du Chien, WI. He enjoyed working the family farm, raising cattle and growing corn.

Merlin W. Gesing, 56, of Waukon passed away peacefully at his home Saturday, February 28, 2015 surrounded by his family following a long, courageous battle with cancer. Memorial services will be held Wednesday, March 4 at 11 a.m. at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Waukon, with Rev. Msgr. Ed Lechtenberg officiating. Burial will be at Mt. Olivet Cemetery, rural Waukon. Friends may call from 4-8 p.m. Tuesday, March 3 at Martin Funeral Home in Waukon, where there will be a 3:45 p.m. scripture service.

Gladys V. Flage, 97, lifetime resident of Waukon, departed her earthly life and went home to be with the Lord Tuesday, February 17, 2015 with family at her side. She lived in Cedar Rapids briefly before her death.
A Celebration of Life service will be held Saturday, February 28 at 2 p.m. at Zalmona Presbyterian Church in rural Waukon with Pastor Tom Buresh officiating. A private burial will take place earlier in the day Saturday. Friends may call from 5-7 p.m. Friday, February 27 at Martin Funeral Home in Waukon. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Zalmona Presbyterian Church.
Gladys Viola Flage was born July 17, 1917 in Waterville, the daughter of Albert G. and Karen M. (Leyse) Hagen. Her family and involvement at Old West Paint Creek Lutheran Church laid a foundation for her Christian faith. Gladys graduated from Waterville High School and Waukon Junior College. She taught elementary school in the Waukon area for several years.

Clem Dinger, age 99, of Decorah died Wednesday, February 18, 2015 at Wellington Place Nursing Home in Decorah. A Celebration of Life and Memory was held Saturday, February 21 at Glenwood Lutheran Church, Decorah, with Rev. Stacey Nalean - Carlson officiating. Interment was in Pontoppidan Cemetery, Decorah.
Clem Richard Dinger was born June 25, 1915, the son of Richard and Clara (Madson) Dinger, in Bluffton.  Clem attended rural country schools and farmed. He was united in marriage to Tina Invick October 14, 1935. He worked at Rath Packing in Cedar Rapids for a short time and for 45 years he was the Watkins Dealer in Allamakee and Winneshiek Counties.  He farmed in Glenwood Township for many years and loved spending time in the woods. Clem also helped to dig many graves in the area by hand and mow at Phelps Cemetery.