Obituaries

Norlin “Abe” R. Meiners, 78, of New Albin died Sunday, April 6, 2025, at Luther Manor at Hillcrest in Dubuque. Visitation was held Saturday, April 12 at Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon.

Norlin “Abe” Richard Meiners was born March 24, 1947, in Minnesota, the son of Arthur Meiners and Olga (Meyer) Meiners Thimmesch. He attended St. John’s School in Caledonia, MN, and went to high school in New Albin. Norlin moved to Wisconsin, hauling milk in Ontario, working at Schweigers Industries in Jefferson, and working in Westby at the sawmill.

December 2, 1972, he married Karen Johnson at Koshkonong Lutheran Church in Cambridge, WI. In 1985, they moved to New Albin and Norlin took over the family furniture upholstery business. Later, Norlin worked for Wiebke Fur and Trading Company in Eitzen, MN.

Mary Lou Bublitz, 84, of Waukon died Wednesday, April 2, 2025, at Northgate Care Center in Waukon. Funeral services were held Monday, April 7 at Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon with Pastor Grant VanderVelden officiating. Burial was held at Oakland Cemetery, Waukon.

Mary Lou Bublitz was born August 17, 1940, in Waukon, the daughter of Edward A. and Mattie E. (Winke) Becker. She was baptized at Zalmona Presbyterian Church and graduated from Waukon High School in 1958. Over the years, she worked at Good Samaritan Society, Northgate Care Center, and Mosaic as a nurse’s aide, making many lifelong friends.

Gail E. Dunning, 72, of Omaha, NE, formerly of Waukon, died Thursday, March 27, 2025, in Omaha. Memorial services will be held Thursday, April 10 at 6 p.m. at Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon with Pastor Cathy Jurgens officiating. Burial will be at Oakland Cemetery, Waukon. Friends may greet the family from 4 p.m. until time of services at the funeral home Thursday.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to the Omaha Music Teachers Association, c/o Jan Zimmerman, 8585 Keystone Drive, Omaha, NE 68134. Please write in Gail Dunning Memorial in the memo line. You may also make a donation to your favorite charity in memory of Gail Dunning.

Gail Elaine Dunning was born April 4, 1952, in Waukon, the daughter of Robert Logan and Olive (Herman) Dunning. She grew up on a dairy farm and always maintained an attachment to the farm. However, it was soon evident that Gail would not remain there as she began playing the piano at the age of four.

Sheryl K. Peterson, 78, of Waukon died Friday, March 14, 2025, at Good Samaritan Center in Waukon. Memorial services will be held Saturday, April 5 at 10:30 a.m. at Salem United Church of Christ in rural Waukon with Pastor Karla Johnson officiating.

Friends may greet the family from 9:30 a.m. until the time of services Saturday, April 5 at the church. Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon is handling arrangements.

Beverly S. Bakkum, 62, of Decorah died Thursday, March 20, 2025, at home in Decorah. Memorial services will be held Wednesday, April 2 at 11 a.m. at Old West Paint Creek Lutheran Church in rural Waukon with Pastor Ken Kimball officiating. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Friends may greet the family from 10 a.m. until the time of services Wednesday at the church. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the family for distribution to causes close to Bev’s heart, or given in her memory to a charity of your choosing. Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon is handling arrangements.

Beverly Sue (Wolfe) Bakkum was born December 17, 1962, in Glendale, CA, to Fred and Sandy (Yochum) Wolfe. After graduating from high school in Ohio, she attended Kent State for a brief time before enlisting in the United States Air Force in 1980. She served honorably for eight years, achieving the rank of Sergeant.

LCDR Dean Allan Engelhardt, U.S. Navy, Retired, 70, of Hertford, NC, died Saturday, March 22, 2025, in his home after a brief battle with sarcoma cancer.

A memorial service was held Monday, March 31 at Cann Memorial Presbyterian Church, Elizabeth City, NC, conducted by his pastor, the Rev. Don Morris. His life will again be celebrated in August at a ceremony at his beloved cabin in Iowa.

The family requests, in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to curesarcoma.org or to this Go Fund Me (https://gofund.me/9c19d909) to support a future donation to Future Farmers of America (FFA) at Waukon High School. Online condolences may be made by visiting www.millerfhc.com.

Janice Illene Lunde Treffinger, 78, of Connelly Springs, NC passed away Wednesday, March 19, 2025, at Magnolia Lane Nursing and Rehabilitation in Morgantown, NC. Born March 12, 1947, she was the daughter of the late Arnold Orlando Lunde and Olga Galstad Lunde.

Janice had a true passion for gardening, she could grow just about anything, from flowers and herbs to vegetables and trees. No matter where life took her, she left a little piece of herself behind in the form of a garden or a tree, and chances are, something she planted is still thriving today.

She was also a book lover through and through. Her collection was filled with treasured reads, and she knew each book she owned. Gardening, cookbooks, biographies, and politics were among her favorite topics, and she was always eager to learn something new.

Neilah Alexis Mae Nobles, age 4, daughter of Barry and Breanna Nobles of Waukon, died Sunday, March 23, 2025, at University of Iowa Health Care Medical Center in Iowa City. Funeral services were held Saturday, March 29 at Iron Ridge Church in Waukon with Pastor Bryan Mincks officiating.

Neilah Alexis Mae Nobles was born to Barry and Breanna Nobles November 16, 2020. Neilah had the most beautiful big blue eyes and an infectious smile. She was very social, cheerful, warm spirited, mischievous, energetic, sassy, innocent, joyful, witty, expressive, and curious.

Her favorite activities were swimming, fishing, puddle stomping, boating, walking her dog Zuma, playing with her best friends, going to the park, playing dress-up, reading books, painting nails, playing with Play-Doh, and snuggling.

William Robert “Bill” Smith, 80, of rural Postville passed peacefully in his home Monday, February 17, 2025. A celebration of life will be held Sunday, March 30 from 1-4 p.m. at the Old Rossville Store.
 

Christine “Chris” A. Mooney, 63, of Cedar Rapids passed away Thursday, March 20, 2025, at the Dennis and Donna Oldorf Hospice House in Hiawatha. Visitation will be held Wednesday, March 26 from 4-7 p.m. where there will be a 3:30 p.m. rosary at Brosh Chapel and The Avacentre in Cedar Rapids, located at 2121 Bowling Street SW.  Funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday , March 27 at St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church in Cedar Rapids. Brosh Chapel and The Avacentre will be assisting the family. Memorials may be directed to the family.

Christine Ann was born August 8, 1961 in Cedar Rapids, the daughter of Eveard Carl and Marie Helen (Franc) Hartson. She graduated from Jefferson High School in 1979. She was united in marriage to Pat Mooney September 22, 1979 at St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church in Cedar Rapids. She worked at the University of Iowa in the Orthopedic Department and retired in 2024.