Pauline L. Greiman, 1916-2008

September 10, 2008

Pauline L. Greiman, 91, of Garner, died on Monday, September 1, 2008, at the Hancock County Memorial Hospital in Britt.

Funeral services were held at 10:00 a.m., on Friday, at the Zion Evangelical and Reformed Church in Garner, with Rev. David Graham officiating. Burial was in the Concord Township Cemetery. The Cataldo Funeral Home was in charge of the arrangements.

Pauline Lucille Greiman, the daughter of Lester and May (Johnson) Michelson, was born on September 25, 1916, on a farm near Kanawha. She attended the rural schools of Amsterdam Township and graduated from the Crystal Lake High School.

On December 18, 1937, she was married to Howard Greiman at the Peace Reformed Church Parsonage south of Garner. They lived in Garner where they raised their three sons. Pauline helped manage the Sport Bowl in Garner for a number of years. She also did day care in her home after her boys graduated from high school. In January of 2005, she entered the Concord Care Center.

Pauline enjoyed cooking, baking, listening to music, reading, crocheting, bowling and, in her younger years, dancing. She was a member of the Zion Evangelical and Reformed Church, Women's Fellowship and was a charter member of the Beta Sigma Phil Sorority and the Hancock County Historical Society.

Pauline is survived by her sons, Terry (Rita) Hansen Greiman of Bloomfield, New Mexico and Greg Greiman of Garner; a daughter-in-law, Jeanne Masquelier of Penn Valley, California; grandson, Lt. Col. Christopher (Tara) Greiman of Springfield, Virginia; a granddaughter, Dr. Jennifer Greiman of Albany, New York; a step-grandson, Paul Schwabe of Golden, Colorado; great-grandchildren, Tristyn and Hayden Greiman; a sister, Beverly Smith of Alden; a brother, Bud Michelson of Independence; and sisters-in-law, Wanda Michelson of Manchester and Ardith Michelson of Klemme.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Howard on December 10, 2004; her parents; son, Harley; grandson, Brenden Jon Greiman; sister, Vivian; brothers, Raymond and Allen Michelson; sister-in-law, Blanche Eisenman Michelson; and a brother-in-law, Vernon Smith.
©The Garner Leader & Signal 2008

Eileen J. (Formanek) Moen, 1939-2008

September 10, 2008

Eileen J. (Formanek) Moen, 69, of Mounds View, Minnesota, formerly of Hayfield, died on Wednesday, September 3, 2008, at the University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Funeral services were held at 10:30 a.m., on Monday, at the St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church in Duncan, with Fr. Brian Dellaert officiating. Burial was in the St. John's Catholic Cemetery. The Cataldo Funeral Home was in charge of the arrangements.

Eileen Janice Moen, the daughter of James and Agnes (Stupka) Formanek, was born on April 7, 1939 at Hayfield. She graduated from the Hayfield Consolidated School in 1957 as class valedictorian and continued her education at the Hamilton Business College in Mason City. Eileen lived in the Minneapolis, Minnesota area where she was an accountant for most of her life working up to four jobs at one time to support her children. For the last seven years she was employed at Cub Foods in New Brighton as a cashier, where she loved and appreciated her fellow employees and customers.

She enjoyed numerous travel adventures with her mother, Agnes, including trips to Europe and Alaska. She also enjoyed her frequent trips to Texas to visit her grandchildren.

Eileen was proud of her Czech heritage and upbringing as a member of the St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church in Duncan. She was a member of the St. Timothy Catholic Church in Blaine, Minnesota.

Eileen is survived by her son, James (Maria) Moen of Carrollton, Texas and their three children, Bryan, Jessica and David; daughter, Tamre Fox of Dallas, Texas and her two children, McKenna and Rachel; two brothers, Richard (Marcia) Formanek of Hayfield and Douglas (Patricia) Formanek of Forest City; a sister, Evelyn (Jerald) Mohrfeld of Austin, Minnesota; and many nieces, nephews and a multitude of friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents, James and Agnes Formanek.

Mom, your body may be gone but your spirit will live in us and our children forever. Great job. Thanks. We love you.
©The Garner Leader & Signal 2008

Patricia L. (Bethke) Stallings, 1924-2008

September 24, 2008

Patricia L. (Bethke) Stallings, 84, of Sedro Woolley, Washington, formerly of Garner, died on Thursday, September 11, 2008, at the Skagit Valley Hospital, Mount Vernon, Washington.

Graveside services were held at 1:00 p.m., on Saturday, September 20, in the Concord Township Cemetery in Garner, with the Rev. Harvey Opp officiating. There was no visitation. The Cataldo Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements. Memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society or a charity of your choice.

Patricia Lee (Bethke) Stallings, the daughter of Charley and Dorothy (Whitney) Bethke was born on July 10, 1924 at Hubbard, Iowa. She attended school in Hubbard and graduated from the Garner High School in 1942. She then attended Stephens College.

In 1944, she enlisted in the U.S. Navy and was honorably discharged as a Seaman First Class. After moving to California in the 1950’s, she worked for the California Department of Motor Vehicles and then the Pacific Telephone and Telegraph as an operator. After retiring from PT & T she resided in Paradise, California until 1987 at which time she relocated to Sedro Woolley, Washington to be near family.

She is survived by two sons, Bill (Toni) and Joe (Patti) Holden, both of Arlington, Washington; a daughter, Polly (John) Harvey of Wasilla, Alaska; eight grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents; a son, Fred Stallings; and a sister, Dona Greiman.
©The Garner Leader & Signal 2008

Clara J. Muff, 1933-2008

September 17, 2008

Clara J. Muff, 74, of Garner, died on Friday, September 12, 2008, at her home.

Funeral services were held at 10:30 a.m., on Monday, at the St. Boniface Catholic Church in Garner, with Revs. Brian Dellaert and Henry Huber officiating. Burial was in the St. Boniface Catholic Cemetery. The Cataldo Funeral Home was in charge of the arrangements. Memorials may be directed to Opportunity Village or the Hospice of North Iowa.

Clara Jean Muff, the daughter of Fred and Clara (Tachovsky) Pospisil, was born on October 31, 1933 at Newman Grove, Nebraska. Her mother died after giving birth to Clara. She was then raised by her uncle and aunt, Adolph and Agnes Chrastil. She attended country school near Hallam and graduated from the Wilbur High School in 1952.

On January 14, 1953, she was married to Ben W. Muff at Wilbur, Nebraska. They lived in Crete, Nebraska until 1955, when they moved to Iowa where they farmed and raised their family north of Ventura. In 1998, they moved into Garner.

Clara was especially proud of her children, grandchildren and Czech heritage. She enjoyed spending time with her family, flower gardening, playing the accordion and cooking, especially kolaches. She was a member of the St. Boniface Catholic Church.

Clara is survived by her husband, Ben of Garner; four children, Christine Muff of Opportunity Village in Clear Lake, Dan (June) Muff of Garner, Deb (Stub) Cash of Clear Lake and Denice (Jeff) Austin of Clear Lake; seven grandchildren, Michelle (Chris) Klostermann and their two children, Sage and Abby, Ann (Tim) Urban, Andy (Hayley) Muff, Adam Cash, Libby Cash (fiancée, Nick Schultz) and their daughter, Jaden, Missy Cash and Jacob Austin; four sisters, Shirley (Virgil) Bickley of Chino, California, Betty (John) Zelenka of Milligan, Nebraska, Carolyn Prazak of Lincoln, Nebraska and Janet Jonson of Lincoln, Nebraska; and a brother, John (Janet) Chrastil of Hallam, Nebraska.

She was preceded in death by her parents.
©The Garner Leader & Signal 2008

Raymond B. Swalve, 1922-2008

September 24, 2008

Raymond B. Swalve, 86, of Fremont, California, formerly of Garner, died on Friday, September 19, 2008, at his home in Fremont.

Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m., on Saturday, September 27 at the Zion Evangelical and Reformed Church in Garner, with the Rev. David Graham officiating. Burial will be in the Ell Township Cemetery in Klemme. Visitation will be held from 5-7:00 p.m., on Friday, at the Cataldo Funeral Chapel in Garner and will continue one hour prior to the services at the church.

Raymond B. Swalve, the son of John and Wilhelmina (Sandersfeld) Swalve, was born on January 5, 1922, on a farm south of Klemme. He graduated from the Klemme High School in 1940. Raymond served his country in the U.S. Navy in the Pacific Theatre during WW II.

On May 14, 1947, he married Lorraine Knoll. They made their home in Garner until the summer of 1970 when they moved to Fremont, California. Raymond was employed with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in San Francisco where he last served as Deputy Chief Appraiser. During this employment he received an outstanding performance award and achieved the grade of GS14. After retiring in 1985, he and Lorraine remained in Fremont. He was a skin and lung cancer survivor.

He was a member of the Immanuel Reformed United Church of Christ in Klemme during his early life and later was a member of Zion Evangelical and Reformed Church in Garner. Raymond sang in the choir for many years, served as a Sunday School Teacher, Sunday School Superintendent, Deacon, Elder and served on three different pulpit committees.

Raymond is survived by his nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Lorraine on December 20, 2001; his parents; brother, Harold Swalve; and sister, Wilma Cline.
©The Garner Leader & Signal 2008

Gary A. Mestad, 1946-2008

October 1, 2008

Gary A. Mestad, 62, of Garner, died on Saturday, September 20, 2008, at his home in Garner.

Funeral services were held at 10:30 a.m., on Thursday, September 25, at the United Methodist Church in Garner, with Rev. Keith Scott officiating. Burial was in the Memorial Park Cemetery in Mason City. The Cataldo Funeral Home in Garner was in charge of the arrangements.

Gary Allen Mestad, the son of Orval and Trina (Linne) Mestad, was born on February 14, 1946 at Mason City. He graduated from the Clear Lake High School in 1964. He continued his education at NIACC in Mason City and graduated from Mankato State University in 1970 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary Education.

On August 15, 1970, he married Merikay Marth at the First Methodist Church in Mason City. That same year they moved to Garner where Gary began teaching fifth grade at the Garner-Hayfield Community Schools. The next year he moved to seventh and eighth grade social studies. He earned his MSE in Education Administration Secondary in 1997 at Drake University. He enthusiastically coached both boys' and girls' middle school sports and varsity softball before retiring in 2001.

Gary took two softball teams to the state tournament. Sports, and especially coaching, was a major part of his life. Gary enjoyed collecting records and CD's, going to the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake and listening to many kinds of music. He was an avid Buddy Holly and St. Louis Cardinals baseball fan.

He is survived by his parents, Orval and Trina Mestad of Clear Lake; a brother, Curtis Mestad of Clear Lake; an uncle, Henry (Donna) Linne of Coralville; and a cousin, Kathy Hanna of Boulder, Colorado.

Gary was preceded in death by a nephew, Adam Benish.
©The Garner Leader & Signal 2008