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Robert (Bob) P. Maxson, age 75, was born December 14, 1948, to Marian and Paul Maxson in Richfield, MN. He graduated from Richfield High School in 1967 and began his college career at Eastern Illinois University where he received a Masters in Business Administration (MBA). He enjoyed being involved in many sports,  playing football in both high school and college. In college, he found his niche in  student government.

After college, he worked for a time as a bank examiner, but because he wanted to be closer to family, he moved back to Richfield, where he met Paulette Brutger. They were married and had two children, Erin was born in 1983 and Michael was born in 1988.

Ronald Wayne Ashbacher, age 76, formerly of Waukon, went home to be with the Lord Monday, December 5, 2022. His interment service will be held at Oakland Cemetery in Waukon Saturday, June 8 at 11 a.m. All are invited to attend.

Ronald was born May 15, 1946 in the French Creek area of rural Waukon, the son of Harold and Louise (Scharping) Ashbacher. He was the youngest of the children. His sisters were Arlene and Dorothy, and his brothers were John A. and Richard.

They lived on a farm between Waukon and Lansing. He attended Waukon High School, after which he was a student at the University of Iowa.

Ronald was a veteran of the Vietnam War and served in the U.S. Army in Germany. Following the war he worked for the Goodyear Company in Topeka, KS. He retired to Lead Hill, AR where he enjoyed fishing and boating. He was also dedicated to visiting family across the country.

Patricia A. Powell, 90, of Luana died Wednesday, May 15, 2024, at Northgate Care Center in Waukon. A private burial will be held at a later date in Smithfield Cemetery, rural Luana. A celebration of life will also be held at a later date. Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon is handling arrangements.

Patricia Ann Powell was born November, 24, 1933, to Emeroy and Garnet (Lockwood) Bowen. She graduated from Anamosa High School and received her Bachelors in Education for teaching from the University of Northern Iowa. While on a blind date, Pat met the love of her life, Lawrence Powell.

The two were married May 30, 1954, in Monona.

Throughout her life, Pat loved teaching. She taught for a few years at Waukon High School before teaching first and second grade in Monona for eight years. She later substitute taught before becoming a full-time farm wife.

Garvin Keene Larson, 90, of Ankeny passed away May 16, 2024. He was born May 26, 1933, the son of Floyd and Helen (McClintock) Larson, in Waukon.
A private graveside service will be held at Ankeny Memorial Gardens. In lieu of a funeral, a celebration of life will be held on Garvin’s birthday, May 26, at his daughter, Shelly Larson’s, house from 2-5 p.m.
Full obituary can be found online at www.MemorialServicesOfIowa.com.

Sarah Christine Welsh, 91, of Waukon joined eternity surrounded by her family Monday, May 13, 2024. Funeral services were held Tuesday, May 21 at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Waukon with Fr. John Moser officiating. Burial was at St. Mary’s Lycurgus Cemetery, rural Waukon. Memorials may be directed to St. Patrick Catholic School ini Waukon, Veterans Memorial Hospital, and Good Samaritan Society - Waukon.

Sarah was born June 1, 1932, in Globe, AZ, the daughter of Frank and Christine (Tovey) Teeling. She was baptized in Tucson, AZ, and when she was 18 months old, her family moved to Waukon, where she was confirmed at St. Patrick Catholic Church. In 1950, she graduated from St. Patrick High School and in 1953 she received her nursing degree from St. Francis School of Nursing in La Crosse, WI.

Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) has been serving northeast Iowa since 1950. The hospital staff is known for caring for their patients, treating them just like family, as witnessed many times by Jan Lotza from Monona.

Jan’s husband, Lawrence Lotza, had a few lengthy hospital stays at Veterans Memorial Hospital this last year. First, he suffered a stroke on a Sunday morning in October and came to the hospital’s Emergency Room (ER) where he received immediate treatment.

“Within a couple minutes, Lawrence had six people working on him in the ER, getting him stabilized,” explains Jan. “He stayed at Veterans Memorial Hospital on skilled care and received wonderful therapy that helped him get back home.  Then a few months later, as he was coming into the hospital for therapy as an outpatient, he had a heart attack and again received that wonderful immediate care before being transferred to La Crosse.”

National Hospital Week is an annual event recognizing the 5,000 hospital, health systems and networks in the United States, as well as the more than six million people who provide care to individuals in communities.

Hospitals play a huge role in the economic health of the state. According to the Iowa Hospital Association, in Iowa alone, there are 123 hospitals in 90 counties, paying $5.7 billion in wages and benefits to the 77,000 people employed in Iowa hospitals. Another 145,000 additional jobs are supported by Iowa hospitals. One in 21 nonfarm-employed Iowans work for hospitals.

“For Veterans Memorial Hospital, we have a payroll of just over $17,000,000 that has an economic impact of just over $50,000,000 in northeast Iowa,” stated Michael Coyle, CEO of Veterans Memorial Hospital.  “VMH completes about 55,000 outpatient visits per year which allows our patients and their families to have lower healthcare costs while receiving outstanding patient care locally.”

The Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) “Family Wellness Fair” welcomed a huge crowd of over 300 visitors this year during its Hospital Week celebration. Visitors toured the Medical Clinic, Hospital and Gundersen Clinic in their route to over 40 booths and educational displays, demonstrations, activities, and giveaways provided by the numerous agencies who service Allamakee and northern Clayton counties, as well as from nearly 20 hospital departments.

Entertainment for the evening included balloon artist Mike Chapman, face painting by VMH Paramedic Claire Butchkoski, a fly-in with helicopter tours by Gundersen Air, and a Waukon Fire Department fire truck and one of the hospital’s ambulances all on site.

Gundersen Clinic welcomed guests with a huge, inflated walk-through colon showing what a healthy colon and a cancerous colon can look like, encouraging regular colonoscopies with Dr. Yee.

The Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation annual Three Person Best-Shot Golf Tournament is set this year for Monday, June 17 at the Waukon Golf and Country Club.

Teams of three will begin the day with a shotgun 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 in joining the event 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.
 

Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) Community and Home Care/Allamakee County Public Health has announced the release of a 50-page resource directory for all services in Allamakee County. The guide is available on the Veterans Memorial Hospital website, under the  www.veteransmemorialhospital.com/service/community-and-home-care/ link, and also on the Allamakee County Economic Development website.