Rose Mae Baker, 1930-2010

May 12, 2010

Rose Mae Baker, 79, of Garner, died on Wednesday, May 5, 2010, at the Muse-Norris Hospice Inpatient Unit in Mason City.

Memorial services were held at 10:30 a.m., on Saturday, at the St. Boniface Catholic Church in Garner, with Fr. Brian Dellaert officiating. The Cataldo Funeral Home was in charge of the arrangements.

Rose Mae Baker, the daughter of John and Beatta (Wellik) Rayhons, was born on December 29, 1930, on a farm northwest of Garner. She attended the rural schools of Garfield Township in Hancock County. Rose Mae then helped her family on the farm and worked at Northwestern Bell in Garner. On March 23, 1950, she was married to Darold Pletcher at the St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church in Duncan. They lived in Corwith until 1957, when they moved to Garner. On November 14, 1982, Darold passed away.

On June 1, 1985, she was married to Red Baker at the St. Boniface Catholic Church. Rose Mae worked at Goodnature's, Winnebago Industries and owned and operated Rose's Resale Shop in Garner until her retirement in 2000. Her family and her faith were a very important part of her life. She enjoyed dancing, camping, cooking, gardening and her dog, Meiko. She was a member of the St. Boniface Catholic Church, Parish Society and the Garner Wa-Tan-Ye.

Rose Mae is survived by her husband, Red of Garner; children, Lynn Pletcher of Sacramento, California, LeAnn (George) Anderson of Belmond, Perry (Trish) Pletcher of Garner, Darla Pletcher of Garner, Brenda Stoner (fiancée, Jim Andersen) of Iowa City and Brad (Joyce) Pletcher of Garner; step-children, Barbara (Randy) Helps of Grimes, Debra Baker of Urbandale, Mike Baker of Carlisle and Tim (Shari) Baker of Grimes; twelve grandchildren, Jesse Pletcher, Justin (Heather) Helin and their children, Katie and Jamin, Holly Anderson and her children, Ian, Olivia and Alex, Jamin (Holly) Anderson and their daughter, Gabrielle, Cody Fundermann, Ashley (Brett) Matern, Andrea Ohrt, Alexis Farley, Taylor Stoner, Lauren Stoner, Brandon (Melissa) Pletcher, Meagen Pletcher and Courtney Pletcher; eight step-grandchildren; three step-great-grandchildren; a sister, Darlene Oldham of Dubuque; and many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Darold; an infant daughter, Linda; grandson, Ryan; a brother, Leonard Rayhons; sisters-in-law, Emma Rayhons and Alice Rayhons; and a brother-in-law, Mike Oldham.
©The Garner Leader & Signal 2010

Beverly Thorson, 1933-2010

May 12, 2010

Beverly A. Thorson, 76, of Klemme, Iowa, died unexpectedly on Wednesday, May 5, 2010, at the Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa, Mason City.

Funeral services were held at 10:30 a.m., on Monday, May 10, at the Klemme United Methodist Church, Klemme. The Rev. Paddy Druhl and Erling Shultz officiated. Burial was in the Ell Township Cemetery, Klemme. The Andrews Funeral Home of Klemme, was in charge of the arrangements. Memorials may be directed to the family or to the donor's choice.

Beverly Ann Beier, the daughter of Elmer and Faye (Bridges) Beier, was born on August 2, 1933 in Beltrami, Minnesota. As a young child the family moved to Iowa, where Bev attended Klemme rural schools and graduated from the Klemme High School in the Class of 1950. After graduation she was employed for a time with the First National Bank in Klemme. Beverly was united in marriage to Russell Wayne Thorson on March 14, 1954. Their union was blessed with a daughter, Barbara and two sons, Tom and Don.

Beverly was employed as the City Clerk for the community of Klemme for 37 years before retiring in 1999. In addition she had held the position of the first Director of the Klemme Public Library until 1996. Bev had been a life long homemaker, loving wife and partner to her husband, Russ and nurturing and caring mother and grandmother. Her interests were diverse and often focused on her family foremost and giving of her time and talents to the betterment of the community and its residents.

In addition to her near four decades of service to the town of Klemme as City Clerk and her library director roles, Bev served for a number of years on the Klemme City Council, the Grandmother's Club and for many years was active in the Klemme Garden Club. She loved to watch over the city park and enjoyed watching the countless youth who played there.

Bev loved her flowers and always kept a yard filled with beautiful colors. She had a lifelong love and passion for music and sang in the church choir, Hancock County Chorus and for years was a part of the "Music City Sweet Adelines". Bev and Russell enjoyed many years attending the Clear Lake Concert Series and Saturday evenings at the Clear Lake Municipal Band concerts. Bev was an excellent cook and had numerous delectable specialties, including Kumla, Maidrites, Kringla, or any of a variety of other treats.

Beverly's faith life was also very important to her and she was always active in the Klemme United Methodist Church. She had been the church financial secretary and in the UMW and was always willing to lend her energies to any of the church activities. For many years Bev sang at funerals and participated in the church choir.

Those left to cherish her memory include her children and their families, daughter, Barbara (Erling) Shultz of Mason City and children, Sarah, Tom and Nathan Shultz; sons, Tom Thorson of Klemme and Don (Michelle) Thorson of Rockwell and children, Tyler and Laura Thorson; her sisters, LaVonne Simon of Winterset, Janis Smith of Webster City and Joann (Roger) Hansen of Kanawha; brothers, Robert (Donna) Beier of Pleasantville, Ronald Beier of Leonardville, Minnesota, James Beier of Newtown, Pennsylvania and Roger (Linda) Beier of Mason City; a brother-in-law, Doug Doolittle of Webster City and sisters-in-law, Lorraine Thorson of Ankeny and Jane Beier of Klemme; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Bev was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Russell W. Thorson on June 25, 1995; brothers, Eugene and Gordon Beier; and sister, Shirley Doolittle.
©The Garner Leader & Signal 2010

Karolyn K. Hoffman, 1938-2010

May 19, 2010

Karolyn K. Hoffman, 72, of Clear Lake, died on Sunday, May 9, 2010, at the Muse Norris Hospice Inpatient Unit, Mason City, surrounded by her loving family and friends.

Funeral services were held at 10:00 a.m., on Saturday, May 15, at the United Methodist Church, Clear Lake, with the Rev. Diana Hoover officiating. Interment was in the Clear Lake Cemetery. Visitation was from 5-8:00 p.m., at the Ward-Van Slyke Colonial Chapel, Clear Lake and then one hour before the services on Saturday at the church.

Karolyn was born on April 17, 1938 in Storm Lake, the daughter of Dale and Roberta (Ford) Newell. She graduated from the Garner High School in 1955. She worked at Farm Bureau following high school. She married Gary Hoffman Sr. After they moved to Clear Lake, she cooked at Lake Park Tap and Grill, Mile Post 194 Truck Stop and then she worked at the Clear Lake Bakery for over 20 years. She operated a shuttle service for Winnebago drivers for over 27 years.

She enjoyed competitive roller skating and ballroom dancing and she also loved to cook.

She is survived by her mother, Roberta Newell of Mason City; six children, Roxane Balderas of Eagle Grove, Karla (Stan) Barnes of Owatonna, Minnesota, Gary (Kim) Hoffman Jr. of Indianola, Lee Hoffman of Clear Lake, Shirley (Don) Lamb of Boyden and Earl Hoffman of Clear Lake; nine grandchildren, Veronica Colorado, Anthony Morales, Misty Padilla, Karmen Carlson, Amber Hoffman, Ashley Hoffman, Teddy Sykes, Samantha Sykes and Caley Hoffman; seven great-grandchildren; and two sisters, Bonnye (Adolph) Reineke of Forest City and Sharon Newell of Clear Lake.

She was preceded in death by her father, Dale Newell; former husband, Gary Hoffman Sr.; and a nephew.
©The Garner Leader & Signal 2010

Elaine M. Jones, 1929-2010

May 26, 2010

Elaine M. Jones, 81, of Garner, died on Tuesday, May 18, 2010, at the Prairie View Apartments in Garner.

Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m., on Friday, at the St. Boniface Catholic Church in Garner, with Fr. Brian Dellaert officiating. Burial will be in the church cemetery.

The Cataldo Funeral Home was in charge of the arrangements.

Elaine Marie Jones, the daughter of Michael and Marie (Schmidt) Roach, was born on January 10, 1929 at Garner. She graduated from the Garner High School in 1946. On September 30, 1947, she was married to Melvin Jones at the St. Boniface Catholic Church in Garner. They lived all of their married life in Garner. Elaine was employed at the Garner Creamery, Hancock County Abstract Company and the Hancock County Clerk of Courts office until retiring in 1994. In October of 2006 she moved to the Prairie View Apartments.

Elaine’s children and grandchildren brought her great joy and delight. She enjoyed spending her leisure time socializing, entertaining and interior decorating. She also cherished going to movies and playing cards with long time friends. She was a member of the St. Boniface Catholic Church, Parish Society, Red Hat Society, Garner Wa-Tan-Ye, WS Homemakers Club and the Delta Upsilon Sorority.

Elaine is survived by her four children and their families, Suzanne (Gene) Johnson of Singapore and their two children, Casey Johnson and Molly (Joel) Fox, Priscilla (Jim) Meyer of Belmond and their three children, Katie (Joe) Tautges, Christopher Meyer and Jordan Meyer, Dennis (Pam) Jones of Garner and their three children, Kwin Jones (fiancée, Craig Novacek), Kayli Jones and Kade Jones and Sallie (Matt) Czaplewski of Rochester, Minnesota and children, Ryan Bruns, Reid Bruns and Robert Czaplewski; an aunt, Erma Linda Schmidt of Garner; and several sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law.

She was preceded in death by her parents; and husband, Melvin on February 13, 1990.
©The Garner Leader & Signal 2010