Advertisement Marianne (Shaw) Syverson
ONALASKA - Marianne (Shaw) Syverson, 71, of Onalaska passed away Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2010, at Franciscan Skemp Medical Center of La Crosse.
Marianne was born Sept. 14, 1938, in Los Angeles. She married John A. Syverson on July 21, 1956, in Los Angeles, and moved to Wisconsin in 1960.
Marianne is survived by her husband, John of 53 years; son, Michael John (Adelaide D’Ippolito) of Westminster, Calif.; three daughters, Robin Lynn (Matthew) Devaney of El Paso, Texas, Debora Ann (Dan) Korn of Cashton and Linda Lee (James) Kerr of Holmen; grandchildren, Nicholas Korn, Addie D’Ippolito and R.J. Kerr and Christopher Kerr Jeffers.
Marianne was preceded in death by her infant daughter, Sharon Marie; and a brother, James Shaw Gilbert of Arizona.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at St. Mary Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Tomah. The Very Rev. Father Steven J. Kachel will officiate. Burial will follow in Oak Grove Cemetery, Tomah. Marianne’s family will be present from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. to celebrate her life. Torkelson Funeral Home, Cashton, is assisting the family with arrangements. Online condolences may be offered at www.torkelsonfuneralhome.com.
Margaret Lucille Gulsvig
WESTBY - Margaret Lucille Gulsvig, 89, long-time resident of both Westby and Decorah, Iowa died Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2010, at Bethany Riverside Nursing Home in La Crosse, surrounded by her family.
She was born Oct. 18, 1920, in Tama, Iowa, to Karl and Amanda Elvina ("Ella" Moe) Hanson and raised on and near the campus of Luther College, Decorah, where her father was the college bursar. Thus began her lifelong passion for, and support of, Luther College. She graduated with a major in English in 1942, and soon thereafter married Elmo Gulsvig, who was an assistant coach and chemistry teacher at Luther. They moved to Westby, where they both dedicated themselves to education and church while raising their family. Upon Elmo’s death in 1997, Margaret surprised everyone by uprooting herself and returning to Decorah, where she quickly established a large circle of friends with the same passion for writing about the area she had shown while in Westby. Then, due to declining health, she moved back to Old Times Assisted Living facility in Westby in 2005, and finally to Bethany Riverside in 2008.
Margaret was an astute observer of everyday life in small towns and relished the opportunity to comment upon its many joys as well as its many absurdities. Once she began her weekly "Maggie’s Musings" column in The Westby Times in the early 1960s, she became known to many simply as Maggie. Area residents looked forward to Thursdays when they could read her unique depiction of the week’s events, often disagreeing with her point of view (particularly if they found themselves to be the subjects) but nonetheless flattered at being mentioned in the Times, and specifically by Maggie. Her children include themselves in this category.
Maggie’s love of all things Norwegian, coupled with a belief that Westby needed a new cause around which to rally, led to her being part of the core group that launched the annual Syttende Mai celebrations in Westby in the late 1960s. Of course this gave her even more to write about (and of course she would have cringed at the grammatical liberties taken in the preceding sentence).
A teacher-by-proxy while her children were young (supporting Elmo as he moved from being teacher and coach to school superintendent), and a substitute teacher as the children got older, Margaret eventually took a full-time position teaching English at Viroqua High School. There her passion for writing became an inspiration to many students and she herself became a coach three-fourths of an academic nature. She led Viroqua High’s Quiz Bowl Team to victory in the mid-70s, no doubt fueled by her famous rice krispie bars.
Throughout her life in Westby, Margaret was an active member of Westby-Coon Prairie Lutheran Church. She sang in the choir, attended Circle, served on the church council, was Sunday School superintendent and supported the Ladies’ Aid in imaginative ways, going so far as to write a comic opera performed by the Ladies for an important church anniversary.
The opera was but one example of her love of parody, wordplay and well-executed practical jokes three-fourths a passion now shared by her many former students and her own children. Her retirement dinner in 1985 became an opportunity for some of them to return the favour, when, for example, waitresses emerged from the kitchen carrying trays of her infamous "Christmas Tree Jell-O desserts" that had been secretly loathed for years. She loved it all.
Margaret again threw herself into community life upon her return to Decorah, writing columns for The Decorah Journal, becoming a guide at Vesterheim Museum, and, of course, being an active member of the local Lutheran church. Having received a Distinguished Service Award from Luther in 1997, she readily became acquainted with many of the current staff and thus often felt she had never really left.
As her ability to write faded away and her memory grew cloudier, Margaret continued to surprise all around her with her quick wit and memorable one-liners. She was greatly supported during this time by the staff at The Old Times in Westby and at Bethany Riverside, to whom her children are deeply grateful. Although she will be dearly missed, her commitment to education and the church, and of course her impish sense of humour, live on in her family, friends and students.
She was preceded in death by her husband; daughter, Mary Ruth; sisters, Esther and Alice; and brothers, Karl and Austin.
She is survived by her three remaining children, Ann (John) Bergstad of Edina, Minn., Paul (Jane) Gulsvig of Onalaska, and Catherine Gulsvig Wood of St. Paul, Minn. She is also survived by six grandchildren, Amy (Gulsvig) Martinkovic, Jennifer Gulsvig, Kurt Gulsvig, John Paul Bergstad, Kristina Bergstad and Adrian Wood-Smith; and two great-grandchildren, twins Riley and Hailey Martinkovic.
The funeral service will be held at 1 p.m. Friday at Westby Coon Prairie Lutheran Church. Pastor Dennis Hallemeier will officiate, with burial in Coon Prairie Cemetery. Friends may call from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday at Vosseteig Funeral Home, 708 S. Hwy. 14, Westby. Memorials are requested to (Westby High School) Norse Fund and to Luther College.
Online condolences may be offered at www.vosseteigfuneralhomes.com.
Hilda O. Angell
ONALASKA - Hilda O. Angell, 94, of Onalaska died Sunday, Jan. 17, 2010, at Onalaska Care Center.
She was born Nov. 26, 1915, in Richland Center, Wis., to Herman and Edith (Hilleshiem) Engendorf. She married George V. Angell on Oct. 28, 1945. Hilda worked in the dietary department at University Hospital in Madison for over 37 years.
She and her husband enjoyed camping, car races at Angell Park Speedway and following the Wisconsin Badgers team sporting events. After retirement, they moved to Babbitt, Minn., in 1987.
Throughout the years, she maintained contact with her many friends and family by faithfully corresponding through letters.
Following the death of her husband of 62 years in 2008, she moved to Onalaska Care Center so she could be closer to her family. While a resident of the care center, Hilda enjoyed playing bingo and attending church services. She loved her new friends at Onalaska Care Center.
Hilda is survived by many nieces and nephews.
In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by her parents; three brothers, Walter, Clyde and Otto Engendorf; and four sisters, Marie McNamer, Lucille Engendorf, Helen Burke and Ethelyn Kretschmann.
Memorial services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at Fossum Funeral Home, Onalaska. She will be buried at a later date beside her husband in Argo Cemetery in Babbitt.
Harlan K. Ruskell
ONALASKA - Harlan K. Ruskell, 97, of Onalaska died Monday, Jan. 18, 2010, at Onalaska Care Center.
He was born in Rockham, S.D., Oct. 21, 1912, to Fred and Laura (Kilpatrick) Ruskell. He graduated from high school in Lakefield, Minn., then moved to Wisconsin. He graduated from Platteville State Teachers College, Platteville, Wis., in 1939, with a degree in agriculture education and taught high school agriculture for three years prior to serving as an officer in the Army during World War II.
Harlan married Dorothy Schell on Oct. 27, 1945, in Norwalk.
He attended graduate school at UW-Madison and served as a 4-H agent in Iowa and Dunn counties before moving to Norwalk, where he taught veterans farm training and farmed. He served on Norwalk school board and was president of Norwalk Creamery.
In 1965, they moved to Onalaska, where Harlan worked as a right-of-way agent for State Department of Transportation until retirement in 1978. He also was an assessor for the towns of Shelby and Holland.
But life wasn’t all about work. Harlan gave back by volunteering, kept in touch with the earth by gardening, maintained his health with exercise, challenged himself intellectually by reading and was always ready for a social outing.
Harlan is survived by his wife; daughter and son-in-law, Diane and David Schumacher of Onalaska; two granddaughters, McKenna (Steve) Pfeiffer of Hudson, Wis., and Nicole (Leo) D’Amico of Italy; sisters, Doris Thoreson of Lakefield, Minn., Dorothy Miller of Sherburn, Minn., and Marian Olson of Hawaii; sister-in-law, Betty Ruskell of Jackson, Minn.; nieces and nephews; and son’s fiancée Jaye Marcorelle of Los Gatos, Calif.
He was preceded in death by his son, Mark; his parents; three brothers, Homer, Robert and Warren; and sister, Helen.
Memorial services will be at 11 a.m. Friday at First Congregational Church, 2503 Main St., La Crosse. The Rev. Ted Dewald will officiate. Visitation will be from 10 a.m. until the time of services Friday at the church. Interment will be in Wanderers Rest Cemetery, Norwalk, at a later date. Memorials are preferred and may be directed to First Congregational Church, Norwalk United Methodist Church or The Salvation Army. Fossum Funeral Home of Onalaska is assisting with arrangements.
Harlan was a gentle man who loved his family deeply. He always had a smile to share, an ear to lend and a kind word about everyone. The family wishes to thank the staff at Onalaska Care Center for their wonderful care and friendship.
Jeremy “Jerm” Kohls
WEST SALEM — Jeremy “Jerm” Kohls, 37, of West Salem passed away unexpectedly Saturday, Jan. 16, 2010, at Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center.
He was born in Willmar, Minn., Aug. 22, 1972, to Charles and Linda Kohls. He was a graduate of Holmen High School in 1990, and was voted class clown. He started to work at Empire Screen Printing after graduation and continued to work there until the time of his death. Jeremy loved to hunt and was a motorcycle fanatic. He always saw the humorous side of life.
He was married to Jessica Cole, and they were later divorced.
Jeremy is survived by his daughter, Abigail, the light of his life; his fiancé, Tricia Lastofka and son, Ian; his mother, Linda Kohls and fiancé, Scott Jungen; father, Charles Kohls; brother, Tracy Kohls; and special nephew, Noah; aunts, uncles and many close friends, especially Bob Armstrong and Kevin Mason.
He was preceded in death by his grandparents.
Funeral services will be held at 8 p.m. Thursday at Blaschke & Schneider Funeral Home, 1501 West Ave. S., La Crosse. Vicar Lauren Carlson of English Lutheran Church will officiate.
Friends and family may call from 4:30 p.m. until the time of services Thursday at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, memorials are requested for a trust fund for his daughter, Abby.
Joe F. Nesbitt
HOLMEN — Joe F. Nesbitt, 74, of Holmen died Saturday, Jan. 16, 2010, at Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center in La Crosse. He was born Feb. 27, 1935, in Wynona, Okla., to Neil Nesbitt and Mildred (Neighty) Nesbitt. Joe served in the U.S. Navy from 1955 to 1961. On Aug. 1, 1959, he was united in marriage to Mary Saldana. Joe worked at M&I Drilling in Greybull, Wyo., for 37 years. He retired in 1997. In 1998, Joe and Mary moved to La Crosse to be close to their daughter and son-in-law and their grandchildren. Joe enjoyed fishing, hunting and camping in the Big Horn Mountains. He was a great cook and loved to cook for his family.
Joe is survived by his wife, Mary of Holmen; a daughter, Debbie (Rainey) Walters of La Crosse; two special granddaughters, Lynsey Good and Megan Walters, both of La Crosse; a brother, Bill Nesbitt of Greybull; a sister, Margaret (Bud) Eckardt of Worland, Wyo.; and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his son, Kelly; father, Neil; his mother and stepfather, Mildred and Pitt Berry; a brother, Bobby Nesbitt; a sister, Patricia Walton; and a half-brother, Pitt Berry Jr.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, Onalaska. The Rev. Patrick Umberger will officiate. Following cremation, Joe will be buried in Wyoming at a later date. Friends may call from 10 a.m. until the time of services Wednesday at the church. Fossum Funeral Home of Onalaska is assisting with the arrangements.
James “Jimmy” A. Devine
ANCHORAGE, Alaska/ HOLMEN — James “Jimmy” A. Devine, 52, of Anchorage and Holmen passed away Dec. 29, 2009, in Anchorage.
Jimmy was born April 26, 1957, in Roswell, N.M., to Richard and Arliss (Allendorf) Devine.
After living in Japan, Okinawa, New Jersey and Puerto Rico, where Jimmy excelled in baseball and was sought after by Puerto Rican teams to play winter ball, the family settled in Holmen, where Jimmy graduated from Holmen High school in 1975. In 1980, he moved to Alaska where he would work several jobs before working on North Slope (Prudhoe Bay) for many years. He loved Alaska, the last frontier. He loved to hunt and fish. He was a hard worker and a generous and gentle soul liked by anyone who met him.
He is survived by two brothers, Tom (Mary Jane) Devine of Bloomington, Minn., and Doug (Mary) Devine of Holmen.; a nephew, Travis Devine, and a niece, Trisha Devine, both of Bloomington; nieces, Casey (Ruben) Anderson of Holmen, and Lindsay (Jeron) Moe of La Crosse; and a great-niece, Lola Moe.
He was preceded in death by his parents and two brothers, Robert and Ronald.
A memorial service will be announced at a later date.
