News Center newsletter

Ruth A. Schlitter, 88, of Oelwein, formerly of Allison, died Saturday morning, May 20, 2017 at Grandview Health Care Center in Oelwein. Celebration of Life Funeral Service was held Tuesday, May 23 at Grace United Methodist Church, Oelwein with Pastor Connie Markle officiating. Interment was at the Monona City Cemetery, Monona.

Ruth Ann Swenson was born January 11, 1929 in Post Township, Allamakee County, the daughter of Lloyd and Cora (Leppert) Swenson.  She graduated from Waukon High School in the Class of 1947.
Ruth was united in marriage to Robert H. Schlitter October 1, 1947 at the Evangelical Church Parsonage in Monona. She worked at Veterans Memorial Hospital and the Good Samaritan Center in Waukon.  Ruth and her family moved to Allison in 1971 where she was the office manager for the Allison Care Center, retiring in 1999. Bob and Ruth moved to Oelwein in 2009.

Donald A. Winters, 84, of Lansing died Sunday, May 14, 2017 at Thornton Manor in Lansing. A private family graveside service with military honors will be held at a later date at Oakland Cemetery in Waukon. Martin Funeral Home in Waukon is handling arrangements.

Donald Arthur Winters was born February 6, 1933 on a farm in rural Waukon, the son of Marvin Le Roy and Rosena Lena (Rolfs) Winters. He attended country schools. For a while, Don’s family lived on a farm outside of Riceville, where his father ran the cheese factory.

Don worked a variety of jobs throughout his life. Besides helping farm and making cheese at the Volney Cheese Factory, he worked at the Shell service station in Monona, was a farm hand for farmers around Allamakee and Clayton counties, worked on the assembly line at the Charles City Oliver Plant, drove a cheese delivery truck to the Bridgeport, WI cheese factory, picked up milk from farmers, and loaded box cars for Quaker Oats in Cedar Rapids.

Bryce Jay Neverman, 71, of Guttenberg died at the Guttenberg Care Center in Guttenberg Saturday, May 13, 2017. Visitation will be held from 4-7 p.m. Wednesday, May 17 at Tueke-Allyn Funeral Home in Guttenberg. There will be a Celebration of Life at a later date.

Bryce was born April 14, 1946 in Luana, the son of Arno “Gus” and Helen (Hinman) Neverman. Bryce was raised in the area and attended Garnavillo High School with the Class of 1964. Bryce served honorably in the U.S. Army from 1965 until 1967, serving in Vietnam.

November 18, 1967, Bryce was united in marriage to Marilyn “Mitz” Rodenberg.  One daughter was born to this union. Together they resided in Guttenberg. They divorced in 1983.

In July of 1989, Bryce married Diane Fox in Las Vegas, NV. Together they lived in Springdale, AR. They divorced in 2015 and Bryce moved back to Guttenberg.

Leon “Mike” Kubitz, 57, of Lansing died Wednesday, May 10, 2017 at Gundersen Lutheran Health System in La Crosse, WI. Mass of Christian Burial will be at 11 a.m. Thursday, May 18 at St. Joseph Catholic Church, New Albin with Rev. John Moser as the Celebrant. Burial will follow at St. Joseph Catholic Church Cemetery, New Albin. Visitation will be Wednesday, May 17 from 4-8 p.m. with a Scripture Service at 3:45 p.m. at the New Albin Community Center, New Albin and one hour before services at the church Thursday.

Leon was born October 13, 1959 to Richard and Teresa (Mitchell) Kubitz in La Crosse, WI. He graduated from Caledonia High School in 1978.

Mike was united in marriage with Sarah Radcliff May 3, 2008 at St. Joseph Catholic Church, New Albin. Mike worked in the logging business his entire career. He owned his own logging business and at the time of his death he was working for Root River Hardwoods in Preston, MN.

The 20th annual “Family Wellness Fair” was held Wednesday, May 10 at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon. Over 250 individuals attended the wellness fair despite the rainy weather and enjoyed all the information and activities provided by over 45 agencies and businesses that serve Allamakee and northern Clayton counties. 

With this being the 20th annual event, special attractions such as photo booth and dunk tank were added to the already popular line up of entertainment. “Klyde Thinger” the Clown was again on site as was Paul Kammarmeyer, “Greenie,” of Manchester, who provided balloon art at the main entrance. Face painting was also performed by Lori Ross and Claire Butchkoski. The Waukon Fire Department had a fire truck on site for viewing plus Veterans Memorial Hospital had an ambulance on display. In addition, Chuck Allen from KMRV 99.1 and KNEI 103.5 was broadcasting live from the fair.

Veterans Memorial Hospital will be hosting its bi-annual Safety Day Camp for children ages six to 14  Thursday, June 8 at the Allamakee Fairgrounds from 8:15 a.m. to 2 p.m. The camp is open to all children in the area.  It is a true safety camp that instructs many areas of safety that address every child’s life.

Each year, many children are killed or injured on America’s farms and at home. This summer, safety day camps, such as the one being hosted by Veterans Memorial Hospital, are being held to teach children how to prevent injuries and reduce the risk of accidents.

During the camps, children participate in interactive activities that reinforce the importance of taking responsibility for their own safety, respecting parents’ safety rules and sharing safety tips with their family and friends.

by Jessica Wilkins,
Physical Therapist Assistant
Team Lead for RehabVisions in the Waukon and Lansing communities

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” - Benjamin Franklin

No statement can hold truer as a person ages. As a person grows older, joints get stiffer and muscles tighter. These changes with aging can initiate a vicious cycle that can create a decline in functional ability because it can cause one to be less active.
With the decrease of functional movement, the daily activity that was previously completed without hesitation can become increasingly difficult and be completed less and less. A perfect example would be a person who notices that their balance isn’t quite as good as in previous years. Due to fear of falling, this person walks less and limits their activity or may change their gait pattern (the way one walks) to short shuffled steps with an increased base of support.

The Veterans Memorial Hospital Diabetes Support Group will hold its next meeting Thursday, May 18 at 10 a.m. The meeting will be held at Veterans Memorial Hospital in the Large Conference Room, located on the lower level of the hospital in Waukon.

This diabetes class is open to everyone who has diabetes or has a friend or loved one with diabetes. For more information on the Diabetes Support Group, call Teresa Myers, RN, C.D.E., Diabetes Educator, or Angie Mettille, RN at Veterans Memorial Hospital at 563-568-3411.
 

The Auxiliary of Veterans Memorial Hospital will be holding its monthly Euchre Marathon for all individuals of the community interested Thursday, May 18. Men and women are welcome to attend, even if not an Auxiliary member. The Euchre marathons are held the third Thursday of each month at the Senior Citizens Room located at the Waukon Wellness Center.

The Auxiliary’s Euchre Marathons begin at 11:30 a.m. with dinner, if desired. Call Northland Agency on Aging at 877-838-8077 if choosing to eat dinner. Card playing will follow at 12:30 p.m. until approximately 2:30 p.m. Anyone wishing to stay and play cards following the Senior Citizens meal is more than welcome to do so. All proceeds from card playing go towards the Auxiliary of Veterans Memorial Hospital. Prizes will be awarded.

Anyone interested in attending but preferring to play Bridge is also welcome to join in.  It is asked that they come with their own table of four players, however.

The Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation annual Three Person Best-Shot Golf Tournament is set for June 19 at the Waukon Golf and Country Club.

Teams of three will begin the day with a shot gun start at 9:30 a.m. and play 18 holes of golf. Breakfast rolls, lunch and dinner and prizes for everyone will all be provided for the donation of $75.

All those interested are asked to pre-register their team by calling the Waukon Golf and Country Club at 563-568-9939. For more information about the golf tournament, call Veterans Memorial Hospital at 563-568-3411.