Obituaries

Lewis W. J. Ebner, 93, of rural Lansing died Thursday, July 2, 2015 at Good Samaritan Center in Waukon. A celebration of life will be held at a later date. Martin Funeral Home in Waukon is assisting with arrangements. A full obituary will be printed at a later date.
 

Duane Harold Meyer, 81, of Castalia died Friday, June 26, 2015 at Gundersen Health Systems in La Crosse, WI surrounded by family. Funeral Services were held Friday, July 3 at Zion Lutheran Church, Castalia. Burial was at Postville Cemetery, Postville with Military Rites.
Duane was the son of Harold and Elsie (Blumhagen) Meyer. He was born August 8, 1933 on the family farm near Castalia. He was baptized in Postville September 4, 1933 by the Rev. Leroy Weihe and confirmed November 23, 1947 at Zion Lutheran Church, Castalia by Rev. LaVerne R. Meinecke. He attended the Castalia Public School for grades 1-8 and then went on to Postville High School, graduating in 1951.

Christine Alma Lund, age 18, of Spring Grove, MN passed away July  2, 2015 from injuries sustained in an automobile accident. Funeral services were held Tuesday, July 7 at Trinity Lutheran Church in  Spring Grove, MN, with Pastor Stephanie Frey officiating. Burial was in Trinity Lutheran Cemetery.
Christine was born January 12, 1997 at Winneshiek County Memorial Hospital in Decorah to Terry and Joyce (Soukup) Lund. She was a lifelong Spring Grove, MN resident and a member of the 2015 graduating class of Spring Grove High School.

Bill Kernan, 72, of Cadiz, KY died peacefully at his home June 25, 2015. In accordance with Bill's wishes there will be no public services.
Bill was born in Dubuque March 19, 1943 to Francis and Leonette Kernan. He graduated from St. George High School in Lansing. His career as a gifted carpenter and craftsman took him all across the U.S. He also worked in Japan for a year.
Bill was a kind-hearted man that was always willing to help a stranger, who often became a life-long friend. He was a talented musician who played in some local country bands and entertained at the Old Opera House in Waukon. His strong faith in Jesus Christ and his gospel music ministry blessed many people in his journey through life.

Kleo M. Westerholm passed away June 10, 2015 in Albuquerque, NM. A memorial service was held in Waukon June 21. Per his wishes, Kleo's ashes will be spread at his son and daughter-in-law's orchard located at 15998 Road 30.5 in Dolores, CO August 2. Food and beverages will be served and all are welcome.
He was born April 3, 1936 in Waukon to Harry and Abbie Westerholm. Kleo entered the U.S. Air Force in 1953 and retired as a Technical Sergeant in 1974. He then worked as an Engineer for Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver, WA and retired in 1992. He was named Employee of the Year in 1991. He made many lifelong friends at both vocations. He was proud of his Air Force career and could always be recognized by his "Air Force Retired" badge on his vest.
Kleo loved hunting, fishing and spending time with his family and friends. He had a great sense of humor and excelled at storytelling. Most of his fishing stories were actually true.

Duane H. Meyer, 81, of Castalia died Friday, June 26, 2015 at Gundersen Lutheran Health Systems, La Crosse, WI. Funeral Services are scheduled to be held at 10:30 a.m. Friday, July 3 at Zion Lutheran Church, Castalia. Burial will follow at Postville Cemetery, Postville with Military Rites.
Visitation will take place Thursday, July 2 from 4-7 p.m. at Schutte-Grau Funeral Home and Cremation Service, Postville and one hour before services at the church Friday. Schutte-Grau Funeral Home and Cremation Service, Postville is assisting the family with arrangements.
 

Iris Ida (Middendorf) Sires of New Albin passed away June 21, 2015. A memorial service will be held Saturday, August 1 at the New Albin Community Center, beginning at 11 a.m.
Iris was born March 5, 1928 to Walter and Ida Middendorf in the Winnebago Valley in Minnesota. She married Cleon Dale Sires April 13, 1946 in Cedar Rapids. They had two sons.
Iris was the secretary for the New Albin School for many years. She loved woodworking, sewing and cooking big meals for her family and friends. She was a member of the VFW of New Albin.
Iris is survived by her sons, Douglas Sires of Apache Junction, AZ and Lance (Fran) Sires of Marseilles, IL; her grandchildren, Andrew (Jessieca) Sires and Sarah (Donald) Oakland of Waukon, Chad Sires of Denver, CO, Samantha (Brian) Loomis of Ottawa, IL and Jason (Laura Belle) Sires of Castle Rock, CO; and her great-grandchildren, Paul, Hannah, Abby, Emma, Wade, Cole, Camden, Anna Belle, Addy, Ainsleigh and Aniston.

Evelyn “Brownie” M. Bublitz, 84, of Waukon died Saturday, June 27, 2015 at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon. Funeral services were held Wednesday, July 1 at St. Paul's United Methodist Church in Waukon. Burial was at Oakland Cemetery, Waukon.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon, Good Samaritan Center in Waukon, or the Humane Society of Northeast Iowa in Decorah.
Evelyn “Brownie” Mae Bublitz was born July 15, 1930 in the Lansing area, the daughter of Daniel and Ada (Bolsinger) Spores. She attended Lansing schools, and August 23, 1947 she married Merlin Bublitz at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Waukon. Brownie worked for a while as a nurse’s aide in area nursing homes and then for over 25 years she worked at Northern Engraving as an inspector.

Virginia (Jeannie) O’Malley, 84, of Webster City died Wednesday, June 24, 2015 at her home surrounded by her family. Mass of Christian Burial was held Monday, June 29 at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Webster City with Rev. Stephen Meyer officiating.  Burial was in Calvary Cemetery in Webster City.
Virginia Mae Walsh, daughter of Joseph and Matilda Waldron Walsh, was born June 13, 1931 at Waukon. She attended French Creek Country School and graduated from Waukon Public High School.
August 22, 1950 she married Leo Thomas O’Malley at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Waukon.  The couple had resided at McGregor, Waterloo and Dubuque. They moved to Webster City in 1956.
Jeannie worked for 28 years for the St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School lunch program. She spent many winters with her daughter and family in Arizona. Leo preceded her in death February 26, 2011.

Barbara M. Burbank, 90, of Indianapolis, IN died June 11, 2015 at her home. Services were held Friday, June 19 at Fairview Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis, IN, with Rev. John Koppitch officiating. Burial was in Washington Park Cemetery North in Indianapolis, IN.
Barbara Mary Martin was Born in Waukon November 26, 1924. She was the third child of Juan Willard and Clara Martha Martin. She was named after her two grandmothers, Barbara Martin and Mary Opfer. Barbara grew up in a loving family, active in the church and choir. Her brother, Roger, teased her a lot, but they shared a special bond and many fond memories of playing in the yard with the neighborhood children.
Barbara loved to ice skate (speed skate) and grew up sewing and cooking. She played tenor saxophone in high school and in the university dance band and marching band. She graduated from the University of Iowa in Iowa City with a nursing degree in 1947 and served as a cadet nurse during WWII.