Obituaries

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.

(NOTE: Change in location for celebration of life)

Marlene (Molly) Mae Habhab, age 86, passed away June 1, 2023 in Waukon. A celebration of her life will be held this Friday, July 21 in Waukon.

The location of that celebration of life has been changed to the First Presbyterian Church, located at 204 West Main Street, Waukon. Visitation is from 10-11 a.m. with the service beginning at 11 a.m.
 

Irene M. Smith, 99, of Lansing died Friday, July 7, 2023 at Thornton Manor in Lansing. Funeral services will be held Wednesday, July 12 at 11 a.m. at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church with Fr. Joseph Sevcik officiating, and burial will be at Gethsemane Cemetery, both in Lansing. Friends may greet the family from 9 a.m. until time of services at the church Wednesday. Thornburg-Grau Funeral Home in Lansing is handling the arrangements.

Irene Mae Smith was born July 4, 1924 in Lansing, the daughter of Charles and Emma (Decker) Hirth. She was baptized at the First Presbyterian Church in Churchtown, attended school in Churchtown and graduated from Lansing High School.

February 4, 1947, she married Robert “Bud” Smith at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church rectory in Lansing. Irene cleaned homes, babysat and also worked at Northern Engraving, Kol-Gol, IGA and Thornton Manor.

Chris E. Mirich, 42, formerly of Waukon, died unexpectedly the evening of Saturday, July 1, 2023. Memorial services will be held Saturday, July 15 at 11 a.m. at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Waukon with Pastor Bryan Robertson officiating. A celebration of life will be held from 4-7 p.m. Friday, July 14 in the church sanctuary. Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon is handling arrangements.

Christopher Ely Mirich was born July 9, 1980 in Reno, NV, the second son of George Budd and Sharleen Michele (Porter) Mirich. He graduated from high school in La Feria, TX in 1999. He attended Texas State Technical College in Harlingen, TX and Houston Community College in Houston, TX until 2004.

In 2008, Chris moved to Des Moines, where he met his best friend and the love of his life, Jill Kistler. Together, they moved to Waukon in 2010. At the time of his death, Chris was working as a compounder at Norplex-Micarta in Postville.

William “Bill” M. Campbell, 75, of Waukon died Wednesday, July 5, 2023 at Aase Haugen Home in Decorah. A celebration of life was held Tuesday, July 11 at First Presbyterian Church with Pastor Grant VanderVelden officiating and burial with military honors was at Oakland Cemetery, both in Waukon. Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon assisted the family with arrangements.

William Mark Campbell was born August 1, 1947 in Waukon, the son of Mark “Pat” and Arlene M. (Wild) Campbell. He was baptized and confirmed at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Waukon. Bill protected and served people his whole life. At age 14, Bill started working at the Skelly gas station, always smiling as he pumped gas. Bill loved cars!