News Center newsletter

Arlene M. Welch, 74, of Waukon died Sunday, September 1, 2019 at her home. Funeral services will be held Friday, September 6 at 11:30 a.m. at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Waukon with Fr. Mark Osterhaus officiating. Burial will be at Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Waukon. Friends may call from 4-7 p.m. Thursday, September 5 at St. Patrick Catholic Church, where there will be a 3:30 p.m. scripture service.

Martin Funeral Home in Waukon is handling arrangements. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the St. Patrick School Hot Lunch Program for equipment or to Veterans Memorial Hospital.

Arlene Mae Welch was born March 25, 1945 in Waukon, the daughter of Harvey and Lucille (Miller) Wagner. She attended Waterville schools and graduated from Waukon High School in 1963. November 21, 1970, she married Harold Welch at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in McGregor. Arlene worked as a home health aide for Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon and took great pride in helping others.

Clarice Olga Balk, age 92, of Eastman, WI passed away Saturday, August 31, 2019 at Crossing Rivers Healthcare in Prairie du Chien, WI. A Memorial Service will be held Tuesday, September 10 at 11 a.m. at the Salem United Methodist Church with Pastor Cheryl Weaver officiating, with interment in the Campbell Cemetery, both located in Eastman, WI. Friends may call at the church Tuesday from 9 a.m. until the time of services.

Clarice was born September 10, 1926 in Lynxville, WI, the daughter of Soren and Bertha (Fortney) Torger. She was married to Howard Clarke, who preceded her in death. She was then married to Ed Fisher, who also preceded her in death. Later, Clarice married Lyman Balk, who also preceded her in death. She worked at Hidden Valley Lodge in Prairie du Chien, WI and later became the “voice” of Walmart, where she worked in various departments over the years until her retirement. Clarice was an active member of the United Methodist Women.

Funeral services for Norman Reeves, 91, will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, September 7 at the United Methodist Church in Lansing. Visitation will be held Friday evening, September 6 from 4-7 p.m. at the United Methodist Church in Lansing. All are welcome to participate in the celebration of his life. Cards can be delivered to Iona at the service, or sent to Iona Reeves at 3401 South 2890 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84109.
 

Patricia “Pat” A. Fish, 76, of Harpers Ferry died Monday, August 26, 2019 at Thornton Manor in Lansing. Memorial services will be held Friday, September 6 at 11 a.m. at Martin Funeral Home in Waukon with Fr. John Moser officiating. Burial will be at Smithfield Cemetery, rural Monona. Friends may call from 4-7 p.m. Thursday, September 5 at Martin Funeral Home.

Patricia Ann Fish was born April 27, 1943 in Dubuque, the daughter of William J. and Clare M. (Kisting) Bray. She was baptized and confirmed at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Farley and graduated from Regis High School in 1961 before attending Kirkwood Community College, both in Cedar Rapids.
October 13, 1962, she married Kenneth Raymond Fish, Sr. at All Saints Catholic Church in Cedar Rapids. They lived in Santa Anna, CA and North Carolina while Kenneth served in the U.S. Marine Corps. Pat and Ken moved to Harpers Ferry in 1998, where she worked as a bookkeeper for TJ Fencing for 18 years before retiring.

Emmet C. Jones, 93, of Waukon died Friday, August 30, 2019 at Good Samaritan Center in Waukon. Memorial services will be held Wednesday, September 4 at 11 a.m. at Old East Paint Creek Lutheran Church in rural Waterville with Pastor Ken Kimball officiating. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Friends may call from 4-7 p.m. Tuesday, September 3 at Martin Funeral Home in Waukon.

The 2019 Christmas Fantasy theme is “Through the Eyes of a Child” and the event will be held Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, November 15,16,17 and 18 at the Allamakee County Fairgrounds Pavilion in Waukon. Decorators are asked to begin thinking about this year’s event. Many decorators are needed to decorate full-size trees, miniature trees, doors, tables, centerpieces, gift baskets, as well as quilted and crafted items, at the Christmas Fantasy.

Christmas tree decorators decorate an artificial tree for display during the Fantasy and are able to take their items back home with them after the event. Many other decorated, crafted or quilted items are offered for silent auction and may also include gift baskets.

This event is planned and sponsored by the Veterans Memorial Hospital Health Care Foundation. Anyone interested in being a part of the 2019 Christmas Fantasy should call Veterans Memorial Hospital at 563-568-3411.
 

The “Get Your Walk On In Waukon” annual family fun walk and 5K was held Saturday, August 17 in conjunction with the Waukon Corn Days celebration. The event offered not only a 5K route but also a shorter walking route of 1.5 miles. The near 100 participants took advantage of both of these options.

This year the event sported a costume contest that was open to all adults and youth entering the event. Some of these creative costumes are pictured at right, including the prizewinning top two costumes/teams.

Logan Houg of Waukon was the first to cross the finish line. All those participating in Saturday’s event received complimentary hospital goodies bags. Free diabetes/blood sugar tests and massages were also offered to all participants.

It has been calculated that, on average, every two seconds someone needs blood. The next LifeServe Blood Center blood drive will be held Thursday, September 5 from 12-5 p.m. at the First Baptist Church located in south Waukon. Blood drives are held once a month in Waukon, to allow for more donors to give. The LifeServe Blood Center supplies Veterans Memorial Hospital with its blood and blood products.

Blood centers across the United States see a decrease in blood donations during the busy summer months.  During the summer, people become more active, have busier schedules, spend more time outdoors and take vacations.

While donations decline, hospitals see an increase in the need for blood. More driving can mean more automobile accidents.  A person who has suffered severe injuries from an automobile accident can need up to 50 units of blood.

The next Caregiver Support Group meeting will be held Monday, September 16, at 1:30 p.m. in the Meditation Room in the front entrance of Veterans Memorial Hospital.  When a person is diagnosed with a chronic illness, a lot of focus and attention is put on how to keep that person as independent and as healthy as possible. When a person loses some of their abilities to care for themselves the burden of care is often assumed by the spouse, a child (or children), or sometimes friends and neighbors. While everyone who becomes a caregiver handles the added responsibility with different skill sets, attitudes and understanding levels, there is no question that there is a very real strain associated with care giving.

Memorials were received by the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation in memory of Charles Berns by Ray and Mary Ann Burke, Chuck and Lois Votsmier, Joel and Teresa Sommer, Alex and Teresa Schaegers, Dave and Sandy Lyons, Dave and Rita Newton, Jane Dietrich, Ernie and Donnalee Osland, Orrin and Nan Grangaard and Mary Schulte.

Memorials were also received in memory of Gladys Heitman by Patsy Kerndt, in memory of Roger Espe by Jackie Westby, and in memory of Donny Vine by Jim and Jill Kiesau.

Memorials and donations are greatly appreciated by the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation. The Foundation is a 501C3 organization. All donations to the Foundation are tax deductible. Memorials and donations can be sent to the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation, 40 First Street SE, Waukon, IA  52172.