Obituaries

Marian E. Bauercamper, 75, of Waukon passed away Sunday, August 18, 2024, in the company of family at Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center in La Crosse, WI. A celebration of life and burial at Cedar Hill Cemetery, Howard County will be held at a later date.

Instead of flowers, please consider donating to the National Kidney Foundation (kidney.org) and becoming a registered organ donor (registerme.org). Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon is assisting the family.

Marian Elizabeth Bauercamper was born in Ames November 23, 1948, the daughter of Thomas and Edith (Evans) George. She was confirmed at the First Lutheran Church in Cresco and graduated from Crestwood High School in 1967. She attended college at the University of Northern Iowa, earning her Bachelor of Arts degree with honors in 1970.

Evelyn A. Gray, 83, of Waukon died Monday, August 12, 2024, at Northgate Care Center in Waukon. Funeral services were held Saturday, August 17 at Zion United Church of Christ in Waukon with Rev. Cathy Jurgens officiating. Burial was at Oakland Cemetery, Waukon. Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon handled the arrangements.

Evelyn Ann Gray was born September 4, 1940, in Waukon, the daughter of Martin and Emma (Timmerman) Bechtel. She was baptized and confirmed at Zion United Church of Christ in Waukon and graduated from Waukon High School in 1958. June 3, 1967, she married Donald Gray at the Methodist Church in Decorah. Evelyn worked at the Good Samaritan Society in Waukon as a dietary aide.

Patricia Marie Lund, age 69, of Monona, formerly of Waukon, passed away peacefully surrounded by her family Friday, August 2, 2024. A funeral service was held Saturday, August 17 at Iron Ridge Church, Waukon, with Pastor Marlan Mincks officiating. Burial took place at Pleasant Grove Cemetery, McGregor. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the family for them to disperse.

Pat was born to Robert and Ann (Wall) Gerlach January 13, 1955 in Prairie du Chien, WI. In 1973 she graduated from Seneca High School. After high school she joined the United States Army. She served on Active Duty until 1976 and as an Army National Guardsman from 1989 to 1991.

Suzanne K. Bresnahan, 76, of Dorchester died Sunday, August 11, 2024, at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon. Memorial services will be held Monday, August 19 at 11 a.m. at St. Mary’s Hanover Catholic Church in rural Waukon, with Fr. John Moser officiating. Friends may greet the family from 9:30 a.m. until time of services Monday at the church. Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon is handling the arrangements.

Suzanne Kathryn Bresnahan was born February 14, 1948, in Spring Grove, MN, the daughter of Christian and Winifred (Casey) Teff. She was baptized and confirmed at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Dorchester, attended Dorchester School and graduated from Waukon High School in 1966.

May 20, 1967, she married Dennis Bresnahan at St. Mary’s Hanover Catholic Church in rural Waukon. From 1967 until 1999 they farmed together in Hanover Township where they milked cows and raised beef cows. Suzanne also worked at the Good Samaritan Society in Waukon.

Jody E. “Smokey” Clauson, age 61, of Marengo, IL passed away August 8, 2024. Visitation was held Tuesday, August 13, 2024 at The Healy Chapel, 332 West Downer Place, Aurora, IL. Burial will take place at 12 p.m. Friday, August 16 at  Waterloo Ridge Church Cemetery in Dorchester.

In lieu of flowers the family is requesting donations be made to diabetic research in her name. To sign the online guestbook, please visit www.healychapel.com.

Jody was born April 21, 1963 in Phoenix, AZ to Joseph and Glenda (Shelby) Spatz. She retired from the Beacon News as a Telemarketer in Aurora, IL. She was a founding member of “The Five Mile Club”.

Janette Jerrine Ryder-Blong, 87, died Thursday, August 1, 2024 at Good Samaritan Center in Waukon. Funeral services will be held Wednesday, August 14 at 11 a.m. at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Waukon with Fr. John Moser, Fr. Joseph Sevcik, and Rev. Msgr. Ed Lechtenberg officiating. Burial will be at Mount Olivet Cemetery, Waukon.

Friends may greet the family from 4-7 p.m. Tuesday, August 13 at Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon where there will be a 4 p.m. scripture service. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to St. Patrick Catholic Church.
Janette was born April 20, 1937, at her parents’ home in rural Castalia. Her father had gone to find the midwife for delivery, but by the time he had returned home Janette had already been born.

Patrick Vincent Mooney, 64, of Cedar Rapids passed away Thursday, August 1, 2024, at St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids. Funeral Mass was Tuesday, August 6 at St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church, Cedar Rapids.

Patrick was born October 28, 1959, in Waukon, the son of Vincent and Rosemary (O’Brien) Mooney. He graduated from Kee High School with the class of 1978. Patrick worked at Coca-Cola for over 36 years, retiring in 2022. He was united in marriage to Chris Hartson September 22, 1979, at St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church in Cedar Rapids.  He enjoyed fishing, watching the Hawkeyes, Cubs and Steelers, traveling, but most of all spending time with his friends and family, especially his grandchildren.

Those who knew Pat knew well his infectious personality and ability to brighten the room’s mood.  He will be greatly missed.

Jason M. Williams, 51, of Onalaska, WI, formerly of Lansing, died Thursday, July 25, 2024, at his home in Onalaska. A celebration of life will be held at a later date. Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon is handling the arrangements.

Jason Mark Williams was born September 26, 1972, in Waukon, the son of Mark and Barbara (Teff) Williams. He was baptized at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Dorchester and confirmed at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church and graduated from Kee High School in 1991, both in Lansing. He lived in Onalaska, WI, where he worked at Midwest TV and Appliance as a service technician for several years.

Jason liked the Halloween season and enjoyed being outside, whether it was hiking, biking, or grilling. He was an avid Hawkeye fan and loved attending games at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City.

Jacqueline (Jackie) Marie (Johnson) Keller, 78, wife, mother, grandmother, and sister, passed away July 16, 2024 in her home in Reedsburg, WI after experiencing a long illness. A private service will be held at a later date.

She is survived by her husband, Robert; her two children, Brenda (Ben) Poller of Verona, WI and Tim (Sara) of Yuma, AZ; five grandchildren, Zach and Jake Poller, Issac Keller, and Lexi and Tawny Felix; and three brothers, Carl (Julie) and Jeffery (Diana) of Waukon, and David (Robin) of Carroll.

Jackie was born in Cedar Rapids March 29, 1946 to Olaf and Doris (O’Brien) Johnson. She and her younger brother, Carl, with their  parents remained in Cedar Rapids until moving to Waukon in 1955 to the family farm at West Ridge. She attended Union Prairie #2 country school through 8th grade before receiving her high school diploma from St. Patrick’s High School in 1964. Jackie finished her education from St. Francis Nursing School in La Crosse, WI.

Gregory Alan Welsh was born September 22, 1958 to Esther and William Welsh, the oldest son of eight children. Raised on the family’s cattle farm in rural Lansing, Greg’s investment in small family farms started early. He graduated from Kee High School in Lansing in 1977.

He went on to major in Business at Loras College in Dubuque, graduating in 1981. After graduating, he worked for Iowa State University to help start their organic program. This work was the kick start to his career as a mentor and pioneer in the organic industry. He spent time traveling, finding himself, and further concreting his commitment to organic food production. He landed in California for a while working for Wonderlife Organics.