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For the fourth time this season, the Kee baseball team was facing off against a South Winneshiek team that has been its greatest rival in recent years, with this fourth match-up having much more riding on it than their previous three regular season contests when the two teams took to the field Wednesday, July 5 in Calmar in the Class 1A District 6 semifinals. That rivalry of recent years has produced some classic baseball battles between the two clubs, with this semifinals match-up further adding to that mix as the Hawks gave the host Warriors yet another close battle but ended up surrendering their fourth end result this season by three runs or less, this time by a 4-1 final score that brought Kee’s 2023 season to a close.

Cheryl A. Schmidt (Phillips), age 79, passed away July 5, 2023 surrounded by family. Her memorial service was held Monday, July 17 at The Gathering Place in Onalaska, WI.

Cheryl was born May 30, 1944, grew up in Lynxville, WI and went to Seneca High School. There she met John Schmidt. They married June 6, 1962 and lived on the farm in Seneca, WI. They moved to Mount Sterling, WI, De Soto, WI, Stoddard, WI and settled in Holmen, WI.

Cheryl worked many years in food service, in restaurants in Lansing, then moved on to dietary and housekeeping at Hillview Healthcare Center in La Crosse, WI, where she retired. In her jobs, she made many friends and built several special friendships with her co-workers.

Cheryl and John found great joy in their pet kitties, who they took care of like family. She was a lifelong lover of landscaping and decorating, and of backyard birds and squirrels, whom she fed well and even fed by hand.

(NOTE: Change in location for celebration of life)

Marlene (Molly) Mae Habhab, age 86, passed away June 1, 2023 in Waukon. A celebration of her life will be held this Friday, July 21 in Waukon.

The location of that celebration of life has been changed to the First Presbyterian Church, located at 204 West Main Street, Waukon. Visitation is from 10-11 a.m. with the service beginning at 11 a.m.
 

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.

Veterans Memorial Hospital’s Housekeeping Department has earned the hospital the #1 ranking in the country for cleanliness, according to the Iowa Hospital Association.

The Association’s Quality Program Measure Trends Analysis is designed to provide hospitals with a comparative review of the quality data collected over time by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).  This data is collected from hospitals across the United States through the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCHAPS) survey. This is the national standard instrument and data collection method for measuring patient’s perceptions of their hospital experience.

by Joe Moses

U.S. Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa made a stop in Waukon Thursday, June 29, holding a Q&A (Question and Answer) session at Lid’s Bar & Grill with local elected officials, the media and members of the public as part of his 43rd annual 99-County Tour.