Obituaries

Valerie Christine Gramlich, 41, of Urbandale, formerly of Waukon, passed away Tuesday, October 1, 2024, surrounded by her family at the Kavanaugh House in Des Moines. Memorial visitation will be from 5-7 p.m. Tuesday evening, October 8 at Iles-Westover Chapel in Des Moines.

Memorial services will be held Saturday, October 12 at 11 a.m. at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Waukon, with Fr. Joseph Schneider officiating. Inurnment will be at Oakland Cemetery, Waukon. Friends may greet the family from 4-7 p.m. Friday, October 11 at Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon where there will be a 3:30 p.m. scripture service. In lieu of gifts, please consider donating to Tori’s Angels or LifeServe Blood Center of Iowa.

James “Jim” Burroughs, 78, of Galesville, WI, originally of Waukon, passed away Wednesday, October 2, 2024, at his home after a long battle with complications from diabetes. A celebration of life will be held Saturday, October 12 from 1:30-4 p.m. at Zion Lutheran Church fellowship hall in Galesville, WI.

Memorial services will be held Sunday, October 13 at 2 p.m. at Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon with Pastor Steve Oden officiating. Burial with military honors will be at Oakland Cemetery, Waukon. Friends may also greet the family from 12-2 p.m. Sunday, October 13 at the funeral home.

James Stephen Burroughs was born January 16, 1946, in Waukon, the son of Alfred and Shirley (Hagemeier) Burroughs. He was baptized and confirmed at First Presbyterian Church in Waukon and graduated from Waukon High School in 1964, where he excelled in basketball and baseball. He attended Northwest Missouri State in Maryville, MO.

Alfred “Cowboy” Clauson, 60, of Marengo, IL passed away September 26, 2024. Visitation was Friday, October 4 at The Healy Chapel, Aurora, IL.

In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations be made to diabetic research in honor of Al. To sign the online guestbook, please visit www.healychapel.com.

Al was born February 28, 1964 in Chicago, IL, the son of the late Henry and Jackie Clauson. Al was a member of the Five Mile riding club and loved to sing karaoke. He will be sorely missed by those whose lives he touched.

Al is survived by his daughters, Sabrina Wyatt, Amber Doolin and Autum Doolin; his brothers, Kenneth, Ronald and Melvyn; a sister, Carolyn Frueh; as well as many grandchildren, nieces and nephews. Along with his parents, Al was preceded in death by his wife, Jody “Smokey” Clauson, who passed away August 8 of this year.

David “Dave” Steven Kruger, 63, of Waukon passed away peacefully September 30, 2024, at his home. A celebration of life will be held Friday, October 4 from 4-7 p.m. at Empty Nest Winery, 1352 Apple Road, Waukon.

Dave was born in February 1961 to Ben and Joan (Helming) Kruger in Waukon. He was baptized and later confirmed at Zalmona Presbyterian Church in Waukon. He graduated from Waukon High School in 1979, and in 1986, he met his future bride, Pam, at Glenwood Lutheran Church while singing in a wedding. They were married in 1988 and that same year took over the family Brown Swiss cattle dairy farm, Stormy View Farm.

Kenneth LaVern Von Ruden, 72, of New Albin passed away at his home September 18, 2024, from complications of Multiple Myeloma. His wishes were for a private family service, which was held September 23 in Iowa.

He was born to LaVern and Irma (Geier) Von Ruden October 21, 1951. He grew up in Kinney Valley and attended South Ridge School and Wilton Elementary. He was a graduate of Royall High School with the class of 1969.

Kenneth attended college in Stevens Point, WI for Wildlife Management. He worked for the Department of Natural Resources in La Crosse, WI for 37 years. Conservation of the land and water was extremely important to him. He was an avid hunter and fisherman and was able to remember every detail of those hunts and days spent on the water. He loved to talk, laugh, and tell stories.

He enjoyed high school sports. You could find him at many of the Kee High sporting events cheering on the students.

John F. Hausman, 89, of Waukon died Sunday, September 22, 2024, at Good Samaritan Society in Waukon. Private family graveside rites will be held in Oakland Cemetery in Waukon at a later date with Pastor Kim Gates officiating. Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon is handling the arrangements for the family.

John Frederick Hausman was born May 21, 1935, in Waukon, the son of Fred Lincoln and Bernice Mae (Rost) Hausman. He was baptized and confirmed at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Waukon. John graduated from Waukon High School in 1953, attended Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, where he excelled on the swim team until receiving a degree in geology. He served in the United States Army and Reserves from 1957 until 1963, receiving intelligence training and certification.

Beverly June North, 66, of Holmen, WI passed away Monday, September 16, 2024 at Gundersen Health System. She was born in Lansing June 13, 1958 to Marvin and Edith (Phipps) Marti.

A Celebration of Life will be held Saturday, October 5 from Noon to 5 p.m. at the New Albin Community Center, 137 Railroad Avenue, New Albin.

Beverly enjoyed gardening, crafting, fireworks and bonfires with her husband, Jeff. He was her true partner in life and they had a deep love for each other. She also loved and excelled with cooking and baking. You would never go to her home and not have one or more delicious choices of baked goods to satisfy your sweet tooth. MOST IMPORTANTLY... there was nobody more loving, accepting and forgiving than her, family was THE most important thing to her.

Floyd Thomas Gettman passed away in death September 13, 2024 in Waukon at 89 years of age. There is going to be a Memorial Service for Floyd Sunday, September 29 at 3 p.m. at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Elkader.

He is preceded in death by his older sisters, LaVonne Grover and Mildred Allen. He is survived by his younger brother, Art and his wife Donna, of Columbia, MO; his sister-in-law, Mary Clarke of Mocksville, NC; his brother and sister-in-law, Richard and Ruth Allen of Hickory, NC; as well as many nieces and nephews.

Floyd was born March 19, 1935 in Mason City. His parents were John and Blanche Gettman. The family moved from Mason City to an 80-acre farm in Garner when Floyd was 10 years old. He grew up working hard with the family and came to be a kind, caring, and friendly adult who made many friends. He graduated from Garner High School in 1953.

Kenneth Milton Perry, age 85, of Waukon, sadly, went home to join his wife, Norma, in Heaven September 13, 2024. They were married 58 years before she passed away in 2022.

Funeral Service was held Friday, September 20 at Community Presbyterian Church in Postville with Pastor Karla Johnson as the officiant. Inurnment took place at Pleasant View Cemetery in Castalia.

Kenneth, the son of Chester and Bessie (McIntosh) Perry, was born October 21, 1938. He grew up on a farm near Castalia. Kenneth graduated from Postville High School where he was a wrestler and still talked about how he would have gone to State had he listened to his coach.

Kenneth was united in marriage to the love of his life, Norma Jean Weston, June 7, 1964. They moved to the family farm when Ken’s dad became ill. They later moved to Cedar Rapids as they both started jobs at Rockwell Collins. He was a proud member of the IBEW 1362. Ken later retired from Rockwell Collins.

Sharon Goeke Sharon K. Goeke, 80, of Waukon died Tuesday, September 10, 2024, at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon. Graveside services will be held Saturday, October 19 at 11 a.m. at Oakland Cemetery in Waukon. A celebration of life will be held Sunday, October 6 from 1-4 p.m. in the Freedom Bank basement hall in Waukon. Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon is handling arrangements. Sharon Kay Goeke was born October 7, 1943, in Chatfield, MN, the daughter of Leonard and Agatha (Goltz) Rubendall. She attended school through the eighth grade. Sharon was married three times: first to Clarence Brainard Jr., with whom she had five children; and then to Willard Goeke, and then James Klemp. Throughout her life, Sharon worked as a farmer, a nurse’s aide at Good Samaritan Society in Waukon, and at the turkey plant in Postville. She enjoyed puzzles, the San Franciso 49ers, going to the casino, reading books, and keeping up with the news.