Earl P. Jaeger
WESTBY, Wis. Earl P. Jaeger, 92, of Westby passed away on Wednesday, May 28, 2008, at Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center in La Crosse.
He was born in rural Westby on Sept. 20, 1915, to Rudolph and Minnie (Blihovde) Jaeger. He married Elaine Larson on Jan. 16, 1942, at Westby Coon Prairie Lutheran Church in Westby. He was a 1934 graduate of Westby High School, completed a course in accounting, business administration and office management, and completed numerous seminars pertaining to the operation and management of a rural electric cooperatives. Mr. Jaeger served 46 months in the U.S. Army, which took him across North Africa to Tunis, then to Sardinia, Corsica and Italy. He was a member of the American Legion Syverson-Funk Post 155 of Westby since 1945 and served as president and treasurer for years. He was also a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3032 of Viroqua since 1971. He served several other organizations: Westby Kiwanis Club since 1961, board of directors of Westby Area School as secretary, board of directors of Westby Coop Credit Union, and board of directors of Westby Areas Cooperatives and Vernon Cooperative Association. He was a member of the Westby Coon Prairie Lutheran Church and served on church council and other committees. He was a life member of the Coon Prairie Preservation and Westby Historical Society. Mr. Jaeger was employed for 50 years, including the 46 months in military service, at the Vernon Electric Cooperative in Westby as accountant, office manager and general manager for 26 years.
His hobbies included photography and traveling. He had visited Hawaii, Mexico, Europe, England, Scotland, Norway, Alaska and most parts of the U.S.A.
He is survived by his wife, Elaine; one daughter, Ellen Jaeger La Bounta of Apple Valley, Minn.; one son, Gary (Marie) Jaeger of New Prague, Minn.; two grandchildren, Angela Kane and Nicholas Jaeger, both of Rosemount, Minn.; one great-grandson, Ryan Jaeger; one brother, Roger (Pat) Jaeger of Westby; and three sisters, Irene Munson of Westby, Helen Running of La Crosse and Ida Mae Peterson of La Crosse.
He was preceded in death by his parents; sister, Ruth Larson; and son-in-law, Gerald C. La Bounta.
Funeral services will be held Saturday, May 31, at 1 p.m. at Westby Coon Prairie Lutheran Church, with Pastor Julie Wollman officiating. Burial, with military rites, will be in Coon Prairie Cemetery. Friends may call Friday from 4 to 6 p.m. at Vosseteig Funeral Home,
708 S. Main St., (Hwy. 14) in Westby. Friends also may call at the church Saturday from noon until the time of services at 1 p.m. Online condolences may be offered at www.vosseteigfuneralhomes.com.
In lieu of flowers or plants, memorials may be made to the charity of your choice.
Vosseteig Funeral Home of Westby is serving the family.
Sister Marian (Vernice) Reiter, FSPA
Sister Marian Reiter, Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration, 84, of La Crosse died Thursday, May 29, 2008, at Villa St. Joseph, La Crosse.
Sister Marian was born to Joseph and Catherine (Eckert) Reiter on Dec. 3, 1923, in Eau Claire, Wis. She entered St. Rose Convent in 1941, and made profession of vows in 1944. Sister Marian taught on the junior high level for 15 years before earning a degree in business education from Edgewood College in Madison. She taught another 12 years in high schools in Iowa and Wisconsin.
After leaving the classroom, Sister Marian served as editor of the FSPA Northern Province newsletter, was coordinator of a house for retired Sisters in Schofield, a vocation education director and a council member for the Northern Province. In 1976 she went to Marquette Michigan as campus minister and then moved on to adult religious education director at St. Michael Parish. When FSPA established the Franciscan Center for Wholistic Living (FCWL) in St. Paul, Minn., in 1983, Sister Marian was asked to be the business manager.
She remained at FCWL for nine years, the last eight of which she was the director of the center. In 1993 she assumed the role of regional secretary for the Eastern Region of FSPA and remained there until 1998. Sister Marian moved to
La Crosse and did research and wrote the history of the FCWL and began on the history of the Eastern Region. She officially retired to St. Rose Convent in June 2004 and to the Villa in 2007.
Sister Marian is survived by her Franciscan community. She was preceded in death by her parents and her sister, Verna.
Friends may call after 3:15 p.m. on Tuesday, June 3, when the body will be brought to St. Rose Convent, La Crosse. A prayer service will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Mary of the Angels Chapel. The Rev. Tom O’Neill, chaplain, Viterbo University, will celebrate the Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, June 4, in Mary of the Angels Chapel. Burial will be in Gate of Heaven Cemetery, La Crosse.
Memorials may be sent to Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, 912 Market St., La Crosse, WI 54601-4782.
Woodruff-Jandt Funeral Home is assisting with the arrangements.
Walter Jim’ Grabon
TOMAH, Wis. Walter “Jim” Grabon, 73, of Tomah died at University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison on Monday, May 26, 2008. A Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at St. Mary Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Tomah. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Family and friends may call from 5 to 8 p.m. today at Torkelson Funeral Home, Tomah, where there will be a rosary by Knights of Columbus at 8 p.m., and from 9 a.m. until the time of services Saturday at the church. Online condolences may be offered at www.torkelsonfuneralhome.com.
Harold E. Lomas
LENA, Ill. Harold E. Lomas, 84, died Wednesday, May 28, 2008, at Lena Living Center in Lena. Funeral services will be at 1 p.m. Tuesday at Dommersnaes-Bertram Funeral Home, Gays Mills, Wis. Interment will be in Gays Mills Cemetery. Visitation will be 2 to 6 p.m. Monday at Leamon Funeral Home, Lena, and noon to 1 p.m. Tuesday at Dommernaes-Bertram. Memorials are preferred to the Harold E. Lomas Memorial. Condolences may be sent to the family at www.leamonfh.com.
Leora Starkey
Leora Starkey, 81, of La Crosse and formerly of Ferryville, Wis., died Thursday, May 29, 2008, at Bethany St. Joseph’s Care Center, La Crosse. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Utica Lutheran Church, township of Utica, Crawford County, Wis., with burial in Utica Cemetery. Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Sunday at Dommersnaes-Bertram Family Funeral Home, Gays Mills, Wis., and from 10 a.m. until the time of services Monday at the church. A complete obituary will follow.
Jesse Harvey Oliver Olson
HOLMEN, Wis. Jesse H.O. Olson, 90, of Holmen died in Tri-County Hospital in Whitehall, Wis., on Wednesday, May 28, 2008.
He was born Feb. 4, 1918, in Ontario, Wis., to Ole and Anna (Austrang) Olson. Nine weeks after his birth, the family moved to the farm, where Jesse would spend a major portion of his life. Jesse served with the U.S. Army in World War II and was discharged as a first lieutenant. He married Marie (Ofstedahl) in 1941, and she preceded him in death in 1963. In 1965, he married Esther Hanson, and she preceded him in death in 2002.
Jesse loved farming and watching things grow, and watching the birds, particularly Hummingbirds. He excelled at woodworking and mechanics, and he accumulated a large collection of tractors. He enjoyed working with chains, twine, clamps and his cats. In the course of his lifetime, Jesse was a farmer, teacher, basketball coach and corporate engineer. He worked at the Trane Co. for 10 years. In 1975, Jesse retired to being a full-time farmer. Esther and Jesse made several trips to Norway and enjoyed researching the ancestry of the family.
He is survived by his daughter, Thelma “T.J.” Barth of Holmen; a son, Steven (Dorothy) Olson of Shelbyville, Tenn.; a grandson, Jeremy (fiancee Angela Wittenwyler) Barth of Minneapolis; and two sisters-in-law, Gladys Olson of Eau Claire, Wis., and Ruth Hanson of Onalaska, Wis.
In addition to two wives, he was preceded in death by his parents, eight siblings, a granddaughter, Brandi in 1997, and a son-in-law, James Barth in 1991.
Funeral services will be Monday at 11 a.m. in Holmen Lutheran Church, 228 Morris St., in Holmen. The Rev. Steven Meyer of the Bridge of Life Lutheran Church will officiate, and burial, with full military honors will be in Greenmound Cemetery, rural Holmen. Friends may call at Dickinson Family Funeral Home, 515 McHugh Road in Holmen on Sunday from 5 to 7 p.m. and at the church on Monday from 10 a.m. until services.
In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to the Jesse Olson Memorial Fund.
Yvonne S. Bowker
FERRYVILLE, Wis. Yvonne S. Bowker, 48, of Ferryville died Thursday, May 29, 2008, at Franciscan Skemp Medical Center, La Crosse. Memorial services will be at noon Monday at Freeman Lutheran Church, Ferryville. Visitation will be at 10 a.m. until the time of services Monday at the church. A complete obituary will follow. Schumacher-Kish Funeral Home of La Crosse is assisting the family.
Aaron W. Burchell
MAUSTON, Wis. Aaron W. Burchell, 72, of Mauston died Tuesday, May 27, 2008, at Hess Memorial Hospital, Mauston. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Picha Funeral Home, Hillsboro, Wis. Burial will be in Mount Vernon Cemetery, Hillsboro. Friends may call from 5 to 8 p.m. today at the funeral home. Online information is at www.picha
funeralhomes.com.
Arnold J. Bailey
TOMAH, Wis. Arnold J. Bailey, 75, of Tomah died Wednesday, May 28, 2008, at Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center, La Crosse. A Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday at St. Mary Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Tomah. The Very Rev. Steven J. Kachel will officiate. Burial, with full military honors by Tomah VFW 1382 will follow in St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery, Tomah. Family and friends may call from 3 to 6 p.m. Sunday at Torkelson Funeral Home in Tomah, and 9:30 a.m. until the time of services Monday at the church. Online condolences are available at www.torkelsonfuneralhome.com.
Lorraine F. Rice
LA CROSSE/ONALASKA, Wis. Lorraine Rice, 82, of La Crosse died Thursday, May 29, 2008, at Meadow Wood Care Center in Onalaska.
She was born Jan. 18, 1926, to William and Bernice (Polzin) Wendlandt. She married Robert Scholberg in La Crosse on Sept. 9, 1944, and he preceded her in death Dec. 21, 1980. She later married Donald Rice in La Crosse on Jan. 16, 1982, and he also preceded her in death June 7, 1986. Lorraine worked as a clerk at Berg’s Pharmacy for more than 35 years and was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church, La Crosse.
She is survived by her daughter, Carol (Robert) Wateski of La Crosse; two sisters, Ruth Schultz of La Crosse and Linda Ender of Tennessee; a brother, Carl Wendlandt of New York; and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her parents; two husbands; a son, Steven Scholberg; one sister; and two brothers.
Funeral services will be Saturday at 11 a.m. at Dickinson Family Funeral Home, 1425 Jackson St., La Crosse. The Rev. Stephan Sandness will officiate, and burial will be in Woodlawn Cemetery, La Crosse. Memorials may be given to the Humane Society of La Crosse.
Leon E. Edman
Leon E. Edman, 96, of La Crosse died Thursday, May 29, 2008, in Hillview Health Care Center, La Crosse. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday in Trinity Lutheran Church, La Crosse. Burial will be in the Oak Grove Cemetery, La Crosse. A complete obituary will be provided by Dickinson Family Funeral Homes, La Crosse.
Rodney A. Steig
WHITEHALL, Wis. Rodney A. Steig, 78, of Whitehall died Thursday,
May 29, 2008, in Pigeon Falls Health Care Center, Pigeon Falls, Wis. Arrangements are pending with Jack Funeral Home, Whitehall.
CORRECTION: Francis E. Gene’ Sawyer
The obituary published Wednesday for Francis E. “Gene” Sawyer, 89, La Crosse inadvertently omitted that he is survived by two sisters-in-law, Anita Molstad and Doris Geiwitz.
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