Obituaries

Marlin “Little Coop” Cooper, 71, of Waukon passed away October 9, 2024 at the Northgate Care Center in Waukon. A Celebration of Life will be held at the Allamakee County Fairgrounds Pavilion in Waukon Sunday, October 20 from 1 to 5 p.m.

Marlin Lee Cooper was born June 7, 1953 to Harmon and Marion (Henderson) Cooper in Postville. He graduated from Waukon High School in 1972. After high school, he worked a short time for Gary Lonning Construction.  “Little Coop” was a very talented carpenter. He was self-employed for many years. Later in life, he worked at Iowa Rotocast Plastic in Decorah.

He loved hunting and fishing. He looked forward to his fishing trips to Canada with family and friends. He enjoyed being on the go, visiting with friends or playing cards. He was always willing to lend a helping hand, whether it was making the morning coffee for the residents at South Ridge or being the lead on any construction project.

Leona E. Gesing, 90, of Waukon passed away peacefully Sunday, October 6, 2024, at Northgate Care Center in Waukon. Funeral services will be held Friday, October 18 at 1 p.m. at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Waukon with Fr. Daniel Knipper officiating. Burial will be at Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Waukon. Friends may greet the family from 12 p.m. until the time of services at the church.

Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon is handling arrangements. Memorials can be made to St. Patrick Catholic School, 200 2nd Street SW, Waukon, IA, 52172.

Leona Elizabeth Komarek was born December 20, 1933, to William and Agnes (Pecinovsky) Komarek near Protivin. She attended Catholic school in Protivin. April 30, 1951, she married Joseph Gesing at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Protivin.

Melvin W. Haskovec, 82, of Waukon passed away Monday, October 7, 2024, at home surrounded by family and friends after a three-year journey with pancreatic cancer. Memorial services were held Friday, October 11 at Martin - Grau Funeral Home in Waukon with Karla Johnson officiating.

Memorials may be directed to Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon, Crossing Rivers Hospice in Prairie du Chien, WI or to the Allamakee Scholarship Fund.

Melvin William Haskovec was born October 12, 1941, in Howard County, the son of William and Alice (Roman) Haskovec. He attended country school through eighth grade and graduated from Elma Public High School in 1960. He then earned his B.A. and teaching certificate in biology, chemistry, and history from Upper Iowa University in Fayette.

Donald Jay Weymiller passed away Tuesday, August 6, 2024 in La Crosse, WI with his sister Dietsy by his side. Earlier in the ER while surrounded by family, a nurse asked him who he had with him and Don replied, “Everyone.” Services were held August 9 and a celebration of life August 13.

Relating what a special person Don was is difficult. His brother Tim said it best: My brother loved to ride good stock in rough country, the wilder and less populated the better. He called it the high lonesomes and we rode a lot of lonesome country together. Leaving nothing but hoofprints and taking nothing but memories, we rode as far south as the Big Bend Country of Texas and as far north as the Colorado Trail in the Rockies, with the Dragoons, the Galiuros, Santa Rita’s, Superstitions and San Franciscan mountains of Arizona in between. Don was a whiz at reading topo maps, and while he might run out of food, coffee or tobacco, he could always find water and we never were lost.

John Davis, 70, affectionately known as Johnny, passed away in his home Wednesday, September 25, 2024. A celebration of life will be held in Spring 2025 at Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Waukon.

Known for living life on his own terms, Johnny embraced every chance for fun and adventure. Growing up in Waukon, he spent his childhood playing basketball and softball, and trout fishing with his father on Patterson Creek. He graduated from Waukon High School in 1972 and later joined the United States Marine Corps, of which he was eternally proud.

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.