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Walter A. Engrav, 86, of Waukon died Thursday, September 30, 2021 at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon. Memorial services will be held Wednesday, October 6 at 1 p.m. at Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon, with Pastor Bryan Robertson officiating. Friends may call from 11 a.m. until time of services at the funeral home Wednesday.

Walter Alfred Engrav was born November 26, 1934 in Neosho, MO, the son of Walter and Mildred (Dahly) Engrav. He and his family moved to Minnesota when he was a toddler. Walter attended school in Preston, MN and Harmony, MN, where he enjoyed playing football, lettering his freshman year. He joined the U.S. Navy in 1952 until 1955, serving during the Korean War as an Airman 1st class aviation ordinance, and he earned his GED.

September 20, 2021, in His infinite wisdom, God our Father mercifully chose the souls of His two servants, Walter William and Mary Ellen Drew, to be welcomed into His kingdom. A lifetime together on Earth and now eternally united in Heaven. Funeral Mass was held Saturday, September 25 at St. Patrick Catholic Church, Cedar Rapids, with burial immediately following at Mount Calvary Cemetery, Cedar Rapids.

Mom and Dad were born June 14, 1934 and June 16, 1935, respectively, in Waukon to John and Mildred Kilpatrick and James and Luella Drew. They grew up there, each in large Scotch Irish families. Knowing each other their whole lives, they eventually moved to Cedar Rapids with their families. In 1957 they were bonded by God in Marriage at St Patrick Catholic Church, Cedar Rapids, and their lives together began there, and now eternal life will be blessed there.

Eleanor M. (Morris) Reth, 99, past resident of the Delhi and Arlington areas in Iowa, passed away at The Great River Care Center, McGregor September 27, 2021, after a lengthy illness. The St. Croix Hospice Center, Strawberry Point also assisted in her health care.

Graveside Services were held Thursday, September 30 at Taylorsville Cemetery, Arlington with Reverend Keith Pitts officiating. The Bohnenkamp-Murdoch Funeral Home & Cremation Service, Manchester was in charge of arrangements.

Eleanor was preceded in death by her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Bernie Morris of Delhi; her former husband, William Reth of Delhi; one daughter, Carolyn Sue Reth of Arlington; three sisters and their spouses, Berdina (Ray) Ward of Strawberry Point, Rosella (Otto) Hinder of Cedar Rapids and Verla Belle (Donald) LeGassick of Manchester; one brother, Cletus (Helen) Morris of Delhi; and one nephew, Russell Ward.

Robert E. Dotseth, 91, of Decorah died Saturday, October 2, 2021 at Wellington Place in Decorah. Funeral services will be held Saturday, October 9 at 1 p.m. at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Waukon with Pastor Bryan Robertson officiating. Burial with military honors will be at Oakland Cemetery, Waukon.

Friends may call from 11:30 a.m. until time of services Saturday at the church. Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon is handling the arrangements.

Robert Eugene Dotseth was born November 9, 1929 in Waukon,  the son of John and Millie (Nylund) Dotseth. He was baptized and confirmed at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Waukon and graduated from Waukon High School in 1947. After graduating from high school, he farmed with his father and his brother, John, in Frankville township before entering the U.S. Air Force from 1950 until 1954. While he was in the service, he played hockey.

Larry D. White, 81, of Pepin, WI and Kingman, AZ passed away Monday, September 27, 2021 at home after a long illness, with his wife at his side. Larry was known to many of his friends and co-workers as “Whitey”.

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Friday, October 15 at Tillinghast Park in Harpers Ferry with Pastor Brian Mincks officiating.  In the event of inclement weather, the service will be moved to the banquet room at the Spillway Supper Club in Harpers Ferry. A lunch and time of fellowship will follow the service at the banquet room of the Spillway Supper Club.

Ness Pumping and Porta Potty Rentals, along with Monroe Auction, will host their annual Breast Cancer Awareness Walk Saturday, October 16 in the Waukon City Park to raise funds for breast cancer awareness and detection.

The event will begin at 9 a.m. and will be COVID-19 friendly. Participants may come and go as they please that morning and can choose to walk with friends, family or on their own. Breast Cancer survivors will be asked to sign a pink porta-potty sporting the breast cancer ribbon. Event t-shirts will be available for sale and light refreshments will also be offered.

Veterans Memorial Hospital has welcomed a new addition to its staff. Benji is a certified therapy dog that makes regular visits to the hospital and helps lift the spirits of the hospital’s patients and staff. Benji is owned and trained by Dannette Hermeier of Waukon, pictured above, who is also a registered nurse on the hospital’s staff. She brings Benji in to see specific patients such as small children, adults who are dog lovers and others who just need a morale boost. Benji works well to boost the morale of hospital staff as well. Not every animal can visit the hospital. Benji is a true certified therapy dog and has all papers on file at the hospital so he meets all criteria. Submitted photo.

The Waukon Indian volleyball players invite the community to “get their pink on” and join them  Tuesday, September 28 in wearing pink to their volleyball games. The teams have decided to support local breast cancer survivors by hosting this “pink out” night and wearing pink all in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October.

The Waukon Indians will be playing Decorah the evening of September 28. The freshman volleyball team will take the court at 5 p.m., the JV at 6 p.m. and varsity volleyball will begin at approximately 7:15 p.m. in the Waukon High School gym.

Veterans Memorial Hospital will be on site with displays and free information on breast cancer awareness, detection and mammography.

Veterans Memorial Hospital is still experiencing a very limited supply of COVID-19 testing kits and asks that anyone experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms seek one of the following testing options:

More EMTs greatly needed in area

Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) Business and Community Solutions will be offering an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) course in Waukon through video conferencing broadcast from Calmar. This 138-hour course will begin Tuesday, October 5.

Areas of study include an introduction to emergency medical services systems, roles and responsibilities of EMTs, anatomy and physiology, medical emergencies, trauma, special considerations for working in the pre-hospital setting, and patient transportation.