Obituaries

Ina K. Pederson, 89, of Waterville died Tuesday, August 19, 2014 at Good Samaritan Center in Waukon. Funeral services were held Saturday, August 23 at St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church in McGregor, with Pastor Andrew Preus officiating. Burial was at East Paint Creek Synod Cemetery, Waterville.
Ina Karen Pederson was the daughter of Dr. Jacob and Ella (Johnson) Deal. She was born at the farm home December 8, 1924. The farm, known then as the Jake Deal 80, was located one mile north of Rossville. As a young girl, Ina made the walk to and from the farm to attend the first and second grades at the Rossville School which she loved.
In 1934, after the death of her father, her mother moved Ina, her sister and two brothers to live in Waterville.  Ina attended school there through the ninth grade and later completed her schooling earning her Iowa G.E.D.

Vernon Kukes, 65, of Ferryville, WI died Thursday, August 21, 2014. Memorial services will be held at 4 p.m. Wednesday, August 27, 2014 at the Vosseteig-Larson Funeral Home in De Soto, WI, with Pastor Grant VanderVelden officiating. Full Military Honors will follow. Visitation will be from 2 p.m. until the time of the service Wednesday, August 27 at the funeral home.
Vernon was born June 24, 1949 in Waterloo to John “Jack” and Anna Kukes. He served in the United States Army as an Engineer from 1969 until 1972. He worked as a Boilermaker for local 81. Vernon enjoyed fishing, hunting and trapping. He also enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren.

Crystal LeeAnn Sickles, 13, of Lansing died Sunday, August 24, 2014. Visitation will be Wednesday, August 27 from 1-4 p.m. at the United Methodist Church, Lansing. Memorial Services will be at 4 p.m. Wednesday, August 27 at the United Methodist Church, Lansing, with Rev. Kevin Smith as the Officiant.
Inurnment will be held at a later date. Thornburg-Grau Funeral Home and Cremation Service is assisting the family with arrangements.
 

Our beautiful Mother, Grandmother, and Great-Grandmother Beatrice Mary (Pedretti) Albert, 91 years young, passed away peacefully with her much loved and grateful children by her side August 15, 2014 (the Feast of the Assumption) in Olympia, WA.
A celebration of Beatrice’s life will be held at St. Michael’s Catholic Church, 1021 Boundary Street SE, Olympia, WA Friday, October 10 at 11 a.m. with burial immediately following at Calvary Cemetery on the 3800 block of Cleveland Avenue SE, Olympia, WA, followed by a reception at Pellegrino’s Event Center, 5757 Littlerock Rd SW, Tumwater, WA.
Beatrice (Bea) was born in Genoa, WI to Stephen and Mary Ursula Pedretti. She was the youngest of eight children and, even though her mother passed away when she was five years old, the memories she had of a loving farm family were wonderful. After graduating from St. Charles Borromeo Grade School in Genoa, Beatrice attended Aquinas High School in La Crosse, WI.

Jean Larson, 95, of Waukon died Monday, August 18, 2014 at Good Samaritan Society-Waukon. Funeral services were held Friday, August 22 at St. John's Lutheran Church in Waukon, with Rev. Lynn G. Groe officiating. Burial was at God's Acre Cemetery, Clermont. Martin Funeral Home in Waukon assisted the family with arrangements.
Mildred Jean Larson was born May 30, 1919 on her grandparents' farm in rural Monona, the daughter of Joseph LaVern and Alys Gertrude (Clausen) Flack. She was baptized and confirmed in her faith and attended Ion country school in rural Monona.
March 1, 1935, she married Clarence Gilman Larson at the Waterville Lutheran Church parsonage in Waterville. Jean and Clarence farmed together for many years before retiring in 1975. They moved into Waukon in 1994. Jean has been a resident at the Good Samaritan Society-Waukon since August of 2012.

Glen William “Wendy” Wendel, 83, of Lansing, passed away Sunday, August 10, 2014 at his home.   
He was born in Waukon February 11, 1931 to Howard and Kaetchen (Zahn) Wendel.  He grew up on the family farm near the four-mile corner, and attended the four-mile school and Lansing High School, where he graduated in 1951.
His mother passed away when he was a young boy and he and his father continued farming. Later he and his father built a home at the foot of Mt. Hosmer.
He was active in music and sports and participated in band playing the clarinet; the vocal music program, where he was selected for the Boys State Choir; boys basketball; and also played with the Lansing Mudcats baseball team.  He was also selected to attend the American Legion’s Hawkeye Boys State in 1949 at Camp Dodge, which he found to be a very rewarding experience.

Betty A. Gramlich, 80, of Lansing, passed on to be with her heavenly father Friday, August 15, 2014 at Gundersen Health System in La Crosse, WI.
Betty Ann, the daughter of Leo and Lydia (Meyer) Fink, was born April 21, 1934 in Lansing. Betty graduated from Lansing High School in 1953 and received training to be a reservation agent for American Airlines. After working for American Airlines for two years, she went to Hollywood Beach, FL and was a waitress in a high-end hotel. After her mother was diagnosed with a heart condition, Betty returned to Lansing to care for her. She started dating Curtis Gramlich and was united in marriage with him October 25, 1958 at the Federated Church in Lansing.  To this union, two children were born.  Betty then started working for Head Start as a teacher and Assistant Director. She retired after thirty years.

Sandra (Sandy) Jo Coleman, age 51, of Waukon, passed away suddenly in her home August 7, 2014. She was born August 6, 1963 to John Collins Coleman and Laurel Diane (Johnson) Coleman. She lived in Milwaukee, WI and married David Schneider.
They had two sons and one daughter. After the death of her husband, she made many places her home, but she made Waukon her permanent home and married Raymond Duvel.
Her former husband and her mother, Laurel Diane (Johnson) Coleman, preceded her in death. She is survived by her two sons, Brandon Schneider and Marshall Schneider; her daughter, Amanda (Schneider- Springborn) Hickok; her four brothers, Daniel Coleman, Tony (Keri) Coleman, Chad Coleman and Shawn (Erica) Coleman; her stepmother, Carol Colman; her two sisters, Dawn (David) Paskeiwicz and Kim (Charles) Stanek; her beloved husband, Raymond Duvel; and her nieces and nephews.

Florence M. Olsen, 83, of Waukon, died Friday, August 8, 2014 at Gundersen Lutheran Hospital in La Crosse, WI. Funeral services will be held Saturday, August 16 at 11 a.m. at St. John's Lutheran Church in Waukon with Rev. Lynn Groe officiating. Open casket viewing will be available an hour prior to service. Burial will be at Oak Hill Cemetery, Lansing. Friends may call from 4-7 p.m. Friday at Martin Funeral Home in Waukon.

Tonya Rachael Leas, 45, of Monona died Sunday, August 3, 2014 at Crossing Rivers Health, Prairie du Chien, WI. Funeral Services were held Friday, August 8 at Living Faith United Methodist Parish in Monona, with Rev. Dennis Hopes as the Officiant. Inurnment will be held at a later date.
Tonya was born October 3, 1968 to Gerald and Judy (English) Swehla in Decorah. She graduated from Thomas Roberts High School in Decorah and Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) in Calmar for nursing.
Tonya was united in marriage with Ron Leas and was later divorced. She worked as a nurse and on the river with her fiancé, Tony McCarthy. Tonya enjoyed scrapbooking, puzzles, flower gardens, knitting, hunting mushrooms, studying Hebrew, convertible mustangs, her puppies, and most of all, her grandchildren.