Obituaries

Ronald H. Roese, 79, of Waukon died Saturday, February 5, 2022 at his home. Memorial services will be held Saturday, February 12 at 11 a.m. at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Waukon with Pastor Kim Gates officiating. Military honors will be held outside of the church following the service. Burial of ashes will be held at a later date in Pomeroy. Friends may greet the family from 4-7 p.m. Friday, February 11 at Martin - Grau Funeral Home in Waukon.

Ronald Harold Roese was born January 6, 1943 in Omaha, NE, the son of Fredrick W. and Florence Ida (Petty) Roese. He grew up in Pomeroy, where he graduated from high school in 1961. Ron married Loretta Peters June 6, 1965 at Wesley United Methodist Church in Pomeroy and they had one daughter, Dawn Elizabeth.

Ronald D. Quanrude, 77, of Waukon died Friday, February 4, 2022 at VA Central Iowa Health Care in Des Moines. Funeral services were held Tuesday, February 8 at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Waukon with Fr. John Moser officiating. Burial with military honors was at Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Waukon.

Ronald Duane Quanrude was born December 5, 1944 in rural Allamakee County, the son of Harold and Ursula (Becker) Quanrude. He graduated from St. Patrick High School in Waukon in 1962. After graduating, Ron enlisted in the United States Air Force serving from 1963-1967. In 1964, Ron graduated from the technical course as a photographic repairman, which included photographic devices at Lowery AFB in Colorado.

John A. Regan, Jr., 74, of Waukon died suddenly Monday, January 31, 2022 in rural Waukon. Funeral services were held Monday, February 7 at St. Mary’s Lycurgus Catholic Church in rural Waukon with Fr. John Moser and Rev. Msgr. Ed Lechtenberg officiating. Burial with military honors took place in the church cemetery. Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon handled arrangements.

John Arthur Regan, Jr. was born July 8, 1947 in Decorah, the son of John A., Sr. and Kathleen (Hovden) Regan. He was baptized and confirmed at St. Mary’s Lycurgus Catholic Church, rural Waukon. John attended Howard Elementary School and graduated from Waukon High School in 1966. After graduation, he enlisted in the U.S. Army for three years.

November 27, 1970, he married Diane M. Mathis at St. Ann’s Catholic Church in Harpers Ferry; they had three children: Jack, Marlene and Jacob. John farmed with his dad and his brother, Jim, all his life.

Deputy John L. Grampovnik, 51, of Waukon died Thursday, January 27, 2022 at University of Minnesota Medical Center in Minneapolis, MN. A celebration of life will be held Thursday, February 3 at 11 a.m. at Iron Ridge Church in Waukon. Visitation will be from 4-8 p.m. Wednesday, February 2 at Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon.

If you have a story to share about John, please write something down and bring it to the visitation or funeral as there will be a special area to place your memories. The family respectfully requests everyone please wear a mask.

Linda M. Lea, 69, of Mendota Heights, MN, formerly of Waterville, passed away Wednesday, January 26, 2022 from a stroke at White Pines Senior Living in Mendota Heights, MN. Private family graveside services are planned to be held at Old East Paint Creek Cemetery in rural Waterville with Pastor Ken Kimball officiating. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to Old East Paint Creek Lutheran Church in rural Waterville.

Linda Margaret Lea was born August 28, 1952 in Waterville, the fourth child of Ambrose and Eunice (Forde) Lea. After graduating from Waukon High School in 1970, Linda received her degree from Luther College in Decorah. She was a teacher in Omaha, NE, Burnsville, MN and at L.A. Unified in Los Angeles, CA, where she lived for more than 20 years.

Linda also spent time in Arizona and at her cabin in Cross Lake, MN. Linda enjoyed cooking, had a lively personality, a great sense of humor, and amazing style and fashion sense.

Mary Cecilia (Gruber) Mefferd, 79, of Marion passed away Wednesday, January 19, 2022 at St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids. In accordance with Mary’s wishes, cremation has taken place. Family will greet friends and family from 4-7 p.m. Friday, January 28 at Murdoch Funeral Home & Cremation Service in Marion.

A Funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, January 29 at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Marion, with Reverend David O’Connor officiating. A private family committal service will take place at a later date at Campbell Cemetery - Bertram Township in Cedar Rapids.

Mary was born November 15, 1942 in La Crosse, WI, the daughter of Erwin Carl and Cecilia Mary (Wagner) Gruber. She was a 1960 graduate of St. George High School in Lansing. September 28, 1963, Mary was united in marriage to Robert “Bob” Dean Mefferd at the Immaculate Conception Church in Lansing.

Naoma F. Humphreys, 92, of Waukon, formerly of Lanark, IL, passed away to her heavenly home Saturday, January 8, 2022 at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon. Family graveside services will be held at a later date in Clinton, IL.

Memorials may be sent to Rock River Christian Camp, 16486 W. IL Route 64, Polo, IL 61064. Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon is assisting the family.

Naoma, along with her twin brother, Ned, were born May 14, 1929 to Oran and Hilda (Wright) Wade of rural Clinton, IL. Naoma went to country school until her family moved into Clinton, and in 1948 she graduated from Clinton High School. She worked at the local drug store and then later took a job as a cashier with the power company.

October 20, 1950, she married the love of her life, Boyce Humphreys; they raised five children and were longtime residents of Lanark, IL. Naoma worked at Elkay Manufacturing and then later worked at Rolling Hills.

Irv “IJ” Peterson, 71, of Harpers Ferry passed away at his home January 3, 2022. A memorial service will be held Saturday, January 29 at The Spillway in Harpers Ferry from 1-4 p.m. Memorial donations may be directed to the family.

Irv John Peterson was born December 3, 1950 to Irving and Donna (Aldrich) Peterson in Waterloo. IJ attended East High School in Waterloo. He was united in marriage to Sylvia Darlyne Shepard July 2, 1968 in Kirksville, MO.

IJ worked at John Deere for 29 years. He served on the safety committee at John Deere for many years. He was also a member of the UAW Local 838. IJ enjoyed golfing, fishing and spending time with friends at the local hangout. But most importantly, he loved spending time with his family.

Douglas D. “Doug” Shaffer, age 71, of Janesville died Thursday, December 23, 2021 at the Denver Sunset Home in Denver after a brave battle with cancer. Memorial services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, January 15 at First United Methodist Church in Cedar Falls. Memorials may be directed to the family or Cedar Valley Hospice.

Doug was born August 9, 1950, the son of Donald and Lenora (Heinmiller) Shaffer in Sioux City. He graduated from Postville High School in 1969. He earned a BA in music and percussion from the University of Northern Iowa in 1973.

Doug was married to Julie Ball in August of 1974 and had two daughters, Trina (#1) and Kristi (#2). They were divorced in 1991.

Doug was united in marriage to Vera “Vee” McCormick February 15, 2003 in Lansing and gained daughter (#3) Lisa. Vee preceded him in death July 2, 2014.

Wendy Sue Gress- Yearous, 60, of Monona died Tuesday, January 4, 2022 at her home in Monona. Funeral Service was held Tuesday, January 11 at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Monona with Rev. Erika Lenth as the officiant. Burial followed in the Oakland Cemetery in Waukon. Memorials may be sent to the MFL Ambulance, P.O. Box 65, Monona, IA 52159.

Wendy was born September 9, 1961 to John “Jack” William and Gale Marie (Kurth) Bissell in Guttenberg. She graduated from MFL High School in 1979 and attended NICC in Calmar for a brief time for Nursing.