Mary Ann Roach

Mary Ann Roach, 88, of West Union, Iowa passed away Saturday, June 3, 2017 at Traditions in West Union, Iowa.  

Mary Ann (Lockwood) Roach was born Feb. 16, 1929 in Valentine, Neb., to Lewis and Ann Elizabeth (Hill) Lockwood.  

The family moved to a farm outside of Fayette, Iowa. Mary Ann attended country school and graduated from Fayette High School, where she was their first Homecoming Queen. 

She then attended nurses training in Des Moines and began a long career as an RN, caring for patients locally at Palmer Memorial Hospital, and then West Union Medical Clinic until her retirement.

Mary Ann married Matthew “Mick” Roach in Fayette on April 11, 1953.  They enjoyed 57 years together until his death in 2010.  Together they raised four children.  She was a loving wife, mother, and grandmother.

Esther Stuart

 Esther R. Stuart, 94, of Muscatine, passed away peacefully surrounded by her family on Saturday, May, 20, 2017, at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City.

Funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, May 26, 2017, at St. Mathias Church. Visitation will be from 4 until 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 25, 2017, at the Ralph J. Wittich-Riley-Freers Funeral Home with a Rosary Prayer Service at 7 p.m. at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to the Ss. Mary and Mathias Parish. Online condolences: www.wittichfuneralhome.com.

Esther was born on January, 14, 1923, in Ossian, Iowa, the daughter of William J. and Rose A. Geling Uhlenhake. She married Raphael Moellers on May 6, 1943, in Ossian. He preceded her in death in 1966. She married Glen Stuart on July, 12, 1973, in Nashua. He preceded her in death in 2006.

Malcolm Whittle

Malcolm Lawrence Whittle, 87, of Elkader, died Wednesday, May 24, 2017, at Central Community Hospital in Elkader. He was born September 1, 1929, on the family farm in rural Communia to Clement and Elsie (Kopp) Whittle. Malcolm graduated from Elkader High School.

He was united in marriage with JoAnn Rita Shea on November 8, 1952, at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Elkader. The couple was blessed with five children. Malcolm was a logger – he worked at Grau Logs and Lumber in Elkader for over 30 years and drove a log truck for many years.

He enjoyed fishing, playing cards, mushroom hunting, and hunting and was a little league coach when his children were young.

George Richards

George S. “Bud” Richards passed away on May 14, 2017, in his home with his wife Dorothy, their five children, and other family members at his side. 

George is survived by Dorothy, his wife of 66 years; his sister Ilah Mae Raaz, of Grand Terrace, CA; daughter, Georgia (Tom Tucker) of Windermere, FL; son, Marshall of Phoenix, AZ; daughter, Vicki (Chris Meinecke) of Maquoketa, IA; daughter, Kimberly (Scott Woodruff) of Kansas City, MO; son, Mark (Cyndi) of Mooresville, NC; his brother-in-law, Dr. Edwin Running of Arvada, CO; 10 grandchildren; 11 great grandchildren; and eight nieces.  

He was preceded in death by his parents, George and Ida Richards; his parents-in-law, Edwin and Margaret Running; brother-in-law, Quentin Raaz; and niece, Barbara (Raaz) Leach.  

Memorial services will be held in both Arizona and Iowa. Service details are pending.

Clarence Jellings

Clarence Wilbur Jellings, age 93 of Clinton, passed away on Sunday May 21. 

Clarence was born on Dec. 26, 1923 in West Union, to parents Bert and Ruth (Wilbur) Jellings. 

Clarence graduated from West Union High School in 1941. 

On Dec. 28, 1945 he was united in marriage to Carmen Lois Schweinefus at West Clermont Lutheran Church.

Clarence started his career in the dairy industry in Postville and Albert Lea, Minn. The family moved to Clinton in 1966, where he worked as a dairy and restaurant inspector for the city and county of Clinton. 

Clarence retired in 1986, and then enjoyed many years of adventurous travels to 20 countries and across North America with his wife. 

Julie Schute

Julie Ann (Christianson) Schute, 66, of West Union, Iowa, left this earth and went to heaven on Monday, May 22, 2017, surrounded by her family at her home in West Union. 

Julie was born on March 31, 1951, in Preston, MN, to Henry and Marilyn (Rice) Christianson. She was born during a blizzard, and her parents had to have their car pulled to the highway by a tractor. A week later, she came home from the hospital and the car had to be pulled back through the mud.

Julie graduated from Harmony High School, Harmony, MN, with the class of 1969. She continued her education in the clerical field, later moving to Minneapolis, MN. 

While living in Minneapolis, she met her husband, Ronald Schute, at a wedding on Oct. 12, 1974. Julie and Ronald were married almost exactly a year later on Oct. 11, 1975, in Harmony, MN. They made their home in West Union, Iowa, where they started their family and had two children, Joel and Kara.

Diane Fay

Diane M. Fay formerly of Sumner passed away Friday, May 12 at her home in Des Moines.  

A wake will be held on July 23 5:30-8 pm and a funeral mass at 10:30 am July 24, both at Immaculate Conception Church in Sumner.

Survivors include her mother Edna Fay, her siblings Joanne (Bob) Huss of Goodlettsville, Tennessee, Frank Fay of Macomb, Illinois, Chris (Ed) Tibesar of Cedar Rapids, Jim (Barb) Fay of Waverly, John M. (Joyce) Fay of Waverly, Barb (Jay) Hageman of Decorah, Dave Fay of Fredericksburg, and Mike Fay of Waverly, several nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her sister Kathy Fay, her father John W. Fay and her grandparents Albert and Louise Fay and Mike and Clara Franzen.

Diane was born March 15, 1956 in Sumner, Iowa, the daughter of John W. and Edna Fay.  

She graduated from Sumner High School and the University of Iowa.

Daryl Snyder

Daryl Snyder, age 64 of Alpha, Iowa died Sunday, May 21, 2017 at his home.

A private family service will be held at a later date.

Hugeback Johnson Funeral Home in New Hampton is entrusted with arrangements.  

Online condolences for Daryl's family may be left at hugebackfuneralhome.com.

Daryl Dean Snyder was born July 14, 1952, in Decorah, IA, the son of Charles and Velma (Steuer) Snyder.

Daryl attended grade school at Turkey Valley and received his high school education at North High School in West Union. 

Daryl had a passion for horses and began training horses and rode as a jockey for several years. 

Daryl was introduced to Kathleen Adams and the couple were married July 24, 1974, at United Methodist Church in Hawkeye, IA. To this union two children, Danny and Laurie were born. 

Karen Mack

Karen Mack, 76 of Clermont, Iowa died Monday, May 22, 2017 at Stoney Brook Assisted Living, West Union, Iowa. 

Karen was born Nov. 4, 1940 to Alfred Harley and Eva Mae (Leonard) Burrack at her grandmother’s home near Strawberry Point, Iowa.

She was baptized and confirmed at St. John Lutheran Church in Arlington, Iowa.

Karen graduated from Arlington High School in 1958.

Karen was united in marriage with Galen Mack on March 2, 1958 at St. John Lutheran Church in Arlington, Iowa. Six children were born to this union. 

While raising her family, Karen was a homemaker and also babysat in her home for other families. When the children were older she worked at Elgin Echo for many years. Together with her husband, Karen owned and operated Mack’s Crafts.

James Lechtenberg

James Nicholas Lechtenberg, 84, Postville, Iowa, died Monday, April 24, 2017, at Winneshiek Medical Center, Decorah, Iowa. Jim was born on July 18, 1932, on the family farm near Festina, Iowa, to Joseph and Caroline (Schissel) Lechtenberg. He graduated from De Sales High School in Ossian, Iowa, with the class of 1950.

Jim was united in marriage to Edna Hackman on May 17, 1954, at St. Luke Catholic Church in St. Lucas, Iowa. Six children were born to this union. Jim and Edna raised their family on their family farm near Postville, Iowa. Jim was a hard working farmer who also was a Pioneer Seed Corn Rep. for over twenty years.