Obituaries

LaVern Vickerman, 89, of Mabel

Published by lniemeyer@bluff... on Thu, 01/24/2019 - 10:49am

LaVern Vickerman, 89, of Mabel, died on Friday, Jan. 18, 2019, at Gundersen Health System in La Crosse.

He was born on Nov. 12, 1929, in Preble Township of Fillmore County to Lillian Vickerman.

When he was 18 years old, he moved to California and while working at a candy factory, met his future wife, Elaine De La Piedra.

They were married on Oct. 30, 1954, in San Jose, Calif.

He was drafted and served two years in the United States Army.

Dennis Kjarland, 75, formerly of Harmony

Published by lniemeyer@bluff... on Thu, 01/24/2019 - 10:48am

Dennis “Denny” Kjarland, 75, of Zearing, Iowa, died on Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2019, at Mary Greeley Medical Center in Ames, Iowa.

He was born in Winona on March 13, 1943, to Lloyd and Esther (Rude) Kjarland. He was raised in Harmony where his parents ran the local restaurant Silver Grill.

He attended Harmony High School where he played football, starting three years and was a part of the undefeated team all three years, of which one year no opponent ever scored on them. He was homecoming king and graduated with the class of 1961.

Lois Geving, 79, formerly of Decorah, Iowa

Published by lniemeyer@bluff... on Tue, 01/15/2019 - 10:26am

Lois Jeanette Geving, 79, of Waterloo, Iowa, and formerly of Cedar Falls, Iowa, died on Monday, Jan. 7, 2019, at Chandler Regional Medical Center in Chandler, Ariz.

She was born on March 13, 1939, in Decorah, Iowa, the daughter of Lloyd and Edna (Young) Gjere.

She was a graduate of Spring Grove High School in Spring Grove.

She married Larry Dean Geving on June 13, 1958, at Big Canoe Lutheran Church in Decorah.

Donald Ray, 84, formerly of Preston

Published by lniemeyer@bluff... on Tue, 01/15/2019 - 10:24am

Donald Dean Ray, 84, once of Preston, died on Friday, Jan. 4, 2019, in Redlands, Calif.

He was born on Sept. 14, 1934.

He graduated from Iowa State College in 1958.

He served in the Navy before returning to the family dairy farm in Preston.

He then began a long career in finance, as an auditor for Bourns, Inc. in Riverside, Calif., and as a certified public accountant. He was a 50-year member of the Masonic Lodge of Minnesota. He was a beloved husband, father and grandfather.

Lucine Reed, 85, sister of Preston woman

Published by lniemeyer@bluff... on Tue, 01/15/2019 - 10:22am

Lucine B. Reed, 85, of rural Racine, died on Sunday, Jan. 13, 2019, of natural causes at Fieldcrest Care Center in Hayfield, where she had been a patient since September of last year.

Lucine Beverly Cuffel was born on March 13, 1933, in Rochester to Homer and Maybelle (Skanson) Cuffel.

She grew up in Rochester and attended school there, graduating from Rochester High School in 1951.

She was employed as a secretary at Gopher Welding in Rochester.

She was married on June 13, 1953, in Rochester to Eugene L. Reed.

Lawrence Priebe, 80, brother of Fountain man

Published by lniemeyer@bluff... on Thu, 01/10/2019 - 10:31am

Lawrence Albert Priebe, 80, a longtime rural Chatfield area farmer, died on Thursday, Jan. 3, 2019, with his family by his side, following a short illness, at Mayo Clinic Hospital, Rochester — Saint Marys Campus, where he had been a patient for one week.

He was born on May 10, 1938, in rural Chatfield, to Albert and Mary (Oldenburg) Priebe.

He grew up on the family farm, attended rural school and began farming with his family.

He was married to Sharon Miller in 1957 in Chatfield.

Shirley Schoppers, 82, formerly of Harmony and Preston

Published by lniemeyer@bluff... on Thu, 01/10/2019 - 10:27am

Shirley LaVonne Millis Schoppers, 82, of Beresford, S.D., formerly of Harmony and Preston, died on Saturday, Jan. 5, 2019, surrounded by her loved ones, at Bethesda of Beresford, S.D.

She was born on March 4, 1936, to Clarence and Ruth (Ruffridge) Millis at St. Ansgar, Iowa.

She graduated from St. Ansgar High School in 1954.

Following graduation, she worked as a housekeeper/laundress at Saint Marys Hospital in Rochester.

She met and married Keith Schoppers on Dec. 20, 1958.

Jane Johnson, 66, formerly of Lanesboro

Published by lniemeyer@bluff... on Thu, 01/10/2019 - 10:26am

Jane Olstad Johnson, 66, of Wabasha, died on the evening of Monday, Dec. 31, 2018.

She was born on Aug. 5, 1952, and grew up in Lanesboro.

She attended Lanesboro High School and Winona State University, where she received both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education.

On June 26, 1976, she married the love of her life, Randy Johnson. Together they raised three boys, Adam, Timothy and Michael.

Phyllis Fulwider, 90, mother of Preston woman

Published by lniemeyer@bluff... on Thu, 01/10/2019 - 10:16am

Phyllis Marie (Bartels) Fulwider, 90, died peacefully on Friday, Dec. 28, 2018, at Chosen Valley Care Center in Chatfield, after a lengthy illness.

She was born on Dec. 31, 1927, in Delaware, Iowa, the daughter of William and Mary Bartels.

She grew up in Hopkinton, Iowa, and attended Hopkinton schools.

She married Forest L. Fulwider on June 15, 1944, in Hopkinsville, Ken. She lived most of her life in Anamosa, Iowa. She moved to Greenleafton in 2003, after retiring from her job driving children with special needs to schools in and around Anamosa.

Rickey Neis, 50, son of Fountain woman

Published by lniemeyer@bluff... on Thu, 01/10/2019 - 10:12am

Rickey “Rick” A. Neis, 50, of Chatfield, died peacefully on Saturday, Dec. 29, 2018, at Saint Marys Hospital surrounded by family.

He was born on July 17, 1968, to Ron and Rita (Niemeyer) Neis in Rochester.

He attended Chosen Valley High School and graduated in 1986.

Following graduation, he worked at Touhy Furniture, Andy’s Liquor, Chatfield Trucking, Chatfield Lumber Yard and at AFC/Strongwell in Chatfield, where he has worked from 1990 until present.