Obituaries

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!

John Myregard Anderson passed away March 19, 2023 at the age of 92 at Cedar Sinai Hospital, Marina Del Rey, CA. A funeral service will be held for him Saturday, July 15 at 11 a.m. at West Paint Creek Synod Church, rural Waukon. Pastor Ken Kimball will officiate. Family will greet friends one hour before services at the church. John will be laid to rest at West Paint Creek Synod Cemetery, rural Waukon near his family.

John Myregard Anderson was born May 15, 1930 to Rudolf S. and Gladys L. (Myregard) Anderson at home in Paint Creek Township, Waterville. He was baptized and confirmed in the Norwegian Synod faith at West Paint Creek Synod Church, rural Waukon. He graduated from Waterville High School in 1948.

John served in the U.S. Air Force from 1951 to 1954. He served in Korea and was also stationed in Japan. John received the Korean Service Medal, U.N. Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal and Good Conduct Medal.

Darryl W. Rud, 80, of Waukon passed away Wednesday, July 5, 2023 at Northgate Care Center in Waukon. Funeral services will be held Wednesday, July 12 at 11 a.m. at Waterloo Ridge Lutheran Church in rural Dorchester with Pastor Ken Kimball officiating. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Friends may greet the family from 9:30 a.m. until time of services at the church Wednesday. Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon is handling the arrangements.

Sharon K. Ryan, 77, of Tiffin, formerly of Waukon, passed away unexpectedly Thursday, June 1, 2023 at her home. Graveside services will be held Sunday, August 6 at 12 p.m. at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Waukon, with Fr. John Moser officiating.

Sharon Ryan was born January 13, 1946 in Waukon, the daughter of Forrest James and Gladys Joann (Woolstrum) Ryan. She graduated from St. Patrick High School in Waukon in 1964. She married Bill Wright at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Waukon in 1966. They had two children together and were later divorced.

Nancy E. Wonderlich, 72, of Waterville died June 28, 2023 with her family by her side after a courageous fight against pancreatic cancer. Memorial services will be held Saturday, July 15 at 11 a.m. at Zalmona Presbyterian Church in rural Waukon with Pastor Sue Klimstra officiating. Friends may greet the family from 4-7 p.m. Friday, July 14 at Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon.

Her family requests that those in attendance wear bright colors so the church and funeral home resemble her flower gardens. The family wishes to start a scholarship in Nancy’s name; memorials may be made to the Allamakee Scholarship Fund Inc., P.O. Box 144, Waukon, IA 52172.

Bernard “Junior/JR” Kolsrud, 93, of Waukon died Tuesday, June 27, 2023 at Northgate Care Center in Waukon. Graveside services were held Saturday, July 1 at Oakland Cemetery in Waukon with Pastor Bryan Robertson officiating.

Bernard Hunstad Kolsrud was born November 28, 1929 in rural Waterville, the son of Ben and Hulda (Hunstad) Kolsrud. He was baptized and confirmed at Old East Paint Creek Lutheran Church in rural Waterville and graduated from Waterville High School. Bernard was born on a farm near Waterville before moving to the family farm in the Cherry Mound area when he was young. He farmed with his parents for several years before taking over the farm and running it on his own.

Aaron L. “Hollywood” Marsh, local Waukon business man, age 76, died peacefully Wednesday, June 14, 2023 at Dubuque Specialty Care Nursing Home. A Military Burial was held at the Jewish/Ansche Chesed Cemetery on Losey Boulevard in La Crosse, WI June 15.

Aaron L. “Hollywood” Marsh was born May 6, 1947 in Washington, DC, the son of Jesse Marsh and Etta Stern. Born into a circus family, “The House Of Mirth”, Aaron would spend most of his childhood, with his older brother Max, attending boarding schools and working the circus during the summers.

Aaron attended Castle Heights Military High School in Lebanon, TN. After finishing high school, Aaron joined the Air Force, from which he was honorably discharged. He then attended college in California. Aaron later moved to New Orleans, LA to be closer to his brother, Max, and went on to open “Aaron’s Antique Mall”, one of many stores  he would open over the years.

Barbara Ellen (DeWitt) Evans Ladner  passed away peacefully from cancer May 26, 2023. A Celebration of Life ceremony was held June 10 at the Sparkman Hillcrest Funeral Home in Dallas, TX.

Barb was born August 13, 1936 and is preceded in death by her parents, Dwight (passed 1987) and Ellen (Finegan) (passed 1981). Her grandparents were Mable and Carl DeWitt and she is a niece of Marion DeWitt from Waukon.

Barb was the oldest of five children; Anthony passed in 1997, Carl currently lives in Texas, Karen currently lives in Illinois, and Sharon passed in 2012. She lived on a farm with her family in Postville until 1953 when she married Dean Gulsvig and moved to Illinois. They had six children: Connie (Texas), Stephen (Texas), Phil (Texas), Greg (Illinois), Cathy (Texas) and Mark (Texas).