Obituaries

Lester E. Mahlstedt, Jr., age 68, of Ionia died Saturday, July 29, 2023 at St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester, MN. A funeral service for family and close friends was held Monday, August 7 at Hugeback-Johnson Funeral Home & Crematory in New Hampton with Rev. Scott Smith presiding.

Lester Ernest Mahlstedt was born May 12, 1955 in Waverly. He was the son of Lester Mahlstedt, Sr. and Marian Mellmann and spent his formative years in Fredericksburg, where he attended school and graduated from Fredericksburg High School in 1973.

Mary E. Iseli, 84, of rural Waukon died Wednesday, August 2, 2023 at her home surrounded by her family. Funeral services were held Saturday, August 5 at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Lansing with Pastor Diane Koschmeder officiating the service. Burial was at Lansing Ridge Cemetery, rural Waukon.

Mary Elizabeth (Gaulthier) Iseli was born September 13, 1938 in Wisconsin, the daughter of Arthur Gabriel and Jennie Marie (Jeffers) Gaulthier. Her father was a commercial fisherman and her mother worked at the Lansing button factory. Mary grew up in Lansing, was baptized and confirmed at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, and attended the Old Stone School, Kee High, Lansing.

Evelyn Beardmore, 102, of Ellsworth, KS, formerly of Waukon, died Thursday, June 8, 2023 in Ellsworth, KS. She heard Leonard playing “Fascination” and knew it was time to join him in the dance.

A Service of Witness to the Resurrection will be held Thursday, August 10 at 11 a.m. at Mt. Hope Presbyterian Church. Inurnment will be at the church cemetery, both in rural New Albin. Friends may greet the family from 4-6 p.m. Wednesday, August 9 at Martin - Grau Funeral Home in Waukon. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to the Mt. Hope Cemetery Fund.

Mary Evelyn was born to Harry and Sarah (Evans) Leas December 22, 1920 in Waterville. She and her three siblings, Dale, Neil and Lucile, were raised on a 160-acre farm, where the family raised chickens and hogs and grew oats and hay. Evelyn walked two miles each way to a country schoolhouse, graduated from Waterville High School in 1939, and moved to Waukon shortly after graduation.

Sue O. Bieber, 80, of Waukon died Friday, July 28, 2023 at her home. Funeral services were held Tuesday, August 1 at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Waukon with Pastor Bryan Robertson officiating. Burial followed at Oakland Cemetery, Waukon. Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon handled arrangements.

Sue Olivia Bieber was born March 1, 1943 in Hampton at the Lutheran Hospital of Franklin County. She was the daughter of Richard Carlyle Stewart and Mary Jane (Petersen) Stewart, and a big sister to Sally Jo Shelley. She was baptized and confirmed at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Hampton.

Sue was a 1961 graduate of Hampton High School and went on to attend the Iowa State Teacher’s College in Cedar Falls, where she completed a teaching degree in 1965. She would return later to the University of Northern Iowa to complete her Masters of Education degree.

Diane Kay Grotegut Brown, age 76, of Albuquerque, NM, formerly of Waukon, died August 25, 2021. A Celebration of Life is scheduled to take place this Saturday, July 29 at Salem United Church of Christ (UCC) in rural Waukon at 2 p.m. Refreshments will be served and all are invited to share memories.
 

Charles E. Weipert, 74, of Waterville died Friday, July 21, 2023 at his home in rural Waterville. A celebration of life and graveside services will be held at a later date in Waterville Lutheran Cemetery. Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon is handling the arrangements.

Charles Edward Weipert was born May 16, 1949 in Waukon, the son of Robert Francis and Mary Louise (Johnson) Weipert. He was baptized and confirmed at Waterville Lutheran Church in Waterville and graduated from Waukon High School in 1967. Chuck served in the U.S. Navy from 1967-1971, and was in the Naval Reserve from 1981-2002, with the NMCB 25 unit out of La Crosse, WI.

In 1971, he married Monica Troendle; they divorced in 1980. In 1981, he married Barbara Schlitter. Chuck worked for the Allamakee Secondary Road Department in Waterville.

Colleen A. Darby passed away March 24, 2021 at the Carroll Center Nursing Home in Sarasota, FL after a short illness.

A Visitation will be held from 3-7 p.m. Monday, July 31 at Leonard-Grau Funeral Home and Cremation Service in Monona. There will also be a one-hour visitation before services at the church Tuesday. Funeral Service will be at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, August 1 at Faith Lutheran Church in Monona with Rev. Mel Harris as the officiant.

Inurnment will follow at St. Paul Lutheran Cemetery in Monona. Leonard-Grau Funeral Home and Cremation Service in Monona is assisting the family with services. In lieu of flowers, Colleen requested that donations be made to the Monona Ambulance Fund or the Glenridge Players.

Garry L. Barrett, 81, of Waukon died Wednesday, July 19, 2023 at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon. Graveside services with military honors were held Tuesday, July 25 at Oakland Cemetery in Waukon.

Garry Lee Barrett was born August 3, 1941 in Postville, the son of Lloyd and Mae (Wintrick) Barrett. He attended French Creek country school in rural Waukon. Garry served in the United States Army from 1967-1973. He was active duty during the Vietnam War as a helicopter mechanic until 1969, then served in the reserves until 1973, when he was honorably discharged as an E5.

Dennis N. Daehler, Sr. (Denny), 73, of Waukon, formerly of Carpentersville and Belvidere, IL, passed away Tuesday, May 16, 2023 in Crestview, FL. He was born February 17, 1950 in Waterloo to the now late Carl N. and Maxine M. (Steen) Daehler.

There was a celebration of life dinner held Saturday, May 20 in Holt, FL. There will be a visitation followed by a memorial service at the Zion United Church of Christ in Waukon starting at 12 p.m. this Saturday, July 22.  A luncheon will follow the memorial service.

Dennis was a hard-working family man who enjoyed woodworking, fishing and hunting. He was especially proud of the bear he shot when we went to Canada. He also dearly loved his dogs, Bear, Teddi, Lily, and grand-dog Gizmo. His wife, Susan, was the love of his life.

Cheryl A. Schmidt (Phillips), age 79, passed away July 5, 2023 surrounded by family. Her memorial service was held Monday, July 17 at The Gathering Place in Onalaska, WI.

Cheryl was born May 30, 1944, grew up in Lynxville, WI and went to Seneca High School. There she met John Schmidt. They married June 6, 1962 and lived on the farm in Seneca, WI. They moved to Mount Sterling, WI, De Soto, WI, Stoddard, WI and settled in Holmen, WI.

Cheryl worked many years in food service, in restaurants in Lansing, then moved on to dietary and housekeeping at Hillview Healthcare Center in La Crosse, WI, where she retired. In her jobs, she made many friends and built several special friendships with her co-workers.

Cheryl and John found great joy in their pet kitties, who they took care of like family. She was a lifelong lover of landscaping and decorating, and of backyard birds and squirrels, whom she fed well and even fed by hand.