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** Vernon F. Weinberg

GREENE — Vernon F. Weinberg, 79, died Saturday (Dec. 5, 1998) at his home.

Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at the First United Church of Christ, Pleasant Valley, with the Rev. Dennis Eastin officiating. Burial will be in the Pleasant Valley Cemetery with military rites conducted by the Clarksville Amvets.

Visitation will be held from 3 to 8 p.m. Monday at Reid’s Funeral Chapel, Greene, and will continue one hour prior to services at the church on Tuesday.

Those planning an expression of sympathy may direct memorials to the Vernon Weinberg Memorial Fund in care of the family.

Vernon Frederick Weinberg was born June 9, 1919, in rural Butler County.

Survivors include his wife, Agnes of Greene; two daughters, Kathleen Morrissey of Eagle River, Alaska, and Cynthia Vallejo of Arvada, Colo.; one son, Michael Weinberg of Rudd; four grandchildren; two brothers, Bernard Weinberg and Reed Weinberg, both of Plainfield.

He was preceded in death by his parents.

** Edna M. Olson

MASON CITY — Edna M. Olson, 88, of 1037 19th St. S.W., died Friday (Dec. 4, 1998) at the Muse Norris Hospice Inpatient Unit.

Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Monday at the Major-Erickson Funeral Home, 111 N. Pennsylvania Ave., with the Rev. Kathy Graves, Hospice Chaplain, officiating. Interment will be in the Park Cemetery, Nora Springs.

Visitation will be held from 3 to 7 p.m. today at the funeral home, and until service time on Monday.

The family suggests memorials to the Edna M. Olson Memorial Fund.

Edna M. Olson was born Jan. 24, 1910, in rural Charles City, the daughter of Frank E. and Ella (Perrin) Seaver. As a child, Edna moved with her family to Minnesota and then to Nora Springs, where she attended and graduated from Nora Springs High School.

Edna was married to Warren M. Olson on June 19, 1930, at the Little Brown Church in Nashua. Edna lived in the Plymouth and Rudd areas and helped farm with her husband near Rudd for 42½ years. Edna also worked for the Nora Springs Bank, at the State House in Des Moines, and she also was a seamstress for several locations.

Edna’s hobbies include crocheting and knitting. She has completed over 100 afghans of which includes one of each child and grandchild to have as a loving memento. She kept her mind sharp through many years of Parkinson’s Disease by doing word puzzles.

Family members cherishing her memory are her children, Jim Olson and his wife, Marilyn, of Webster City, June Klemas and her husband, Roger, of Mason City, Bonnie Scott of Marshalltown, Vern Olson and his wife, Margaret, of Wesley, Sharon Paulus and her husband, Paul, of Clear Lake, Larry Olson and his wife, Donna, of Satellite Beach, Fla., Joann Felton of Mason City, Darlene Norton of Mason City, Dale Olson and his wife, Karen, of Decorah, and Lois Long and her husband, Terry, of Thornton; a special niece, Judy Chamat and her husband, Nabil, and their children, Costa and Natalie; 28 grandchildren; 23 great-grandchildren; two great-great-grandchildren; five step-great-grandchildren; sisters-in-law, Mary Seaver of Des Moines, and Gladys Seaver of Cedar Falls; three nieces and one nephew.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Warren in 1970; one son-in-law, Leonard Scott; one grandchild, Cindy Manning; two brothers, Lloyd and Harold Seaver; and one nephew, David Seaver.

** Marvin O. Weydert

MASON CITY — Marvin O. Weydert, 81, of 2205 12th St. N.E., died Saturday (Dec. 5, 1998) at his home.

Funeral arrangements are incomplete at Hogan-Bremer Colonial Chapel, 126 Third St. N.E.

** Dorothy Navratil

ST. ANSGAR — Dorothy Navratil, 49, died Saturday (Nov. 5, 1998) at the Mitchell County Regional Health Center, Osage.

Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Grafton.

Visitation will be held from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Monday at Schroeder & Sites Funeral Home, St. Ansgar.

Other funeral arrangements are incomplete at the funeral home.

** Mabel G. Sondergaard

MASON CITY — Mabel G. Sondergaard, 95, died Saturday (Dec. 5, 1998) at the Good Shepherd Health Center.

Funeral arrangements are incomplete at Hogan-Bremer Colonial Chapel, 126 Third St. N.E.

** Joseph Budzialek

FOREST CITY — Joseph Budzialek, 47, died Friday (Dec. 4, 1998) at North Iowa Hospice, Mason City.

Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Petersen Lund Funeral Home with the Rev. Craig Steimel of St. James Catholic Church, officiating. Burial will be in St. James Catholic Cemetery.

Visitation will be held one hour prior to services at the funeral home.

The family suggests memorials to Hospice of North Iowa.

Joseph Budzialek was born March 9, 1951, in Munich, Germany.

Survivors include his wife, Brenda Budzialek of Forest City; one daughter, Heather Hartigan of Forest City; two sons, Andrew and Eric Budzialek, both of Forest City; his mother, Lilly Budzialek of Bear, Del.; two sisters, Helen Cockerill of St. Georges, Del., and Gisela Cummings of Wilmington, Del.; two brothers, Walter Budzialek of Bear, Del., and Edward Budzialek of New Castle, Del.; and three grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his father, and maternal and paternal grandparents.

** William F. ‘Bill’ Hewitt

MASON CITY — William F. "Bill" Hewitt, 73, of Scottsdale, Ariz., formerly of Mason City, died Friday (Dec. 4, 1998) at his home.

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Monday at Major-Erickson Funeral Home, 111 N. Pennsylvania Ave., with the Rev. Ron Stein of the First Baptist Church, officiating. Interment will be in Elmwood-St. Joseph Cemetery, with a flag folding ceremony provided by the Mason City Memorial Association.

There will be no visitation.

The family suggests memorials to Hospice of the Valley, 1510 E. Flower St., Phoenix, Ariz., 85014.

Bill was born June 25, 1925, in Ainsworth, Neb., the son of Elmer and Leslie Farner Hewitt. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. In 1955, Bill founded Hewitt Wholesale, Inc., in Mason City. He was past-president of the Iowa Tobacco Association, past-president and a member of the Mason City Country Club, and McCormick Ranch Country Club of Scottsdale.

Bill is survived by his wife of 53 years, Chic, of Scottsdale; two sons, W. Brent Hewitt and his wife, Carolyn, of Scottsdale, and Guy Hewitt and his wife, Shauna, of Mason City; four grandchildren, Shannon, Trevor, Brandee and Troy; three great-grandchildren, Kolten, Whitnie and Nicolle Noel; two brothers, Vern Hewitt of Denver, and Jimmy Hewitt of Littleton, Colo.; and two half-brothers, Ray Munson of Winner, S.D., and James Munson of Salmouth, Mass.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents, Elmer and Leslie Hewitt; and one brother, Floyd.

** Claude R. Simkins

MASON CITY — Claude R. Simkins, 81, of 217 19th St. S.E., died Saturday (Dec. 5, 1998) at the I.O.O.F. Home.

Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at Major-Erickson Funeral Home, 111 N. Pennsylvania Ave.

Visitation will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Monday at the funeral home, and until time of services on Tuesday.

Other funeral arrangements are incomplete at the funeral home.

** Beulah Evelyn White

ROCKFORD — Beulah Evelyn White, 81, died Saturday (Dec. 5, 1998) at her home.

Funeral arrangements are incomplete at the Fullerton Schumburg Funeral Home.

** Gilbert H. Guenther

BRITT — Gilbert H. Guenther, 91, died Friday (Dec. 4, 1998) at the Kanawha Community Home.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Monday at the United Methodist Church with the Rev. Robert Dodge, the Rev. Karen Dearchs, the Rev. Warren Paige, the Rev. Robert Bell, the Rev. Ronald Johnson, and the Rev. Arlyn Coalter officiating. Interment will be in Evergreen Cemetery.

Visitation will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. today at the Cataldo Funeral Home.

Memorials may be directed to the Britt United Methodist Church Organ Fund.

Gilbert Henry Guenther was born on Jan. 4, 1907, in Page County, near Shambaugh, to George Isaac and Harriet Sarah (Cox) Guenther. He attended country school and graduated from Clarinda High School in 1925.

He attended junior college in Clarinda where he played football. He 1928, he traveled with a threshing crew into North Dakota and Canada. On his return home, he stopped in Ida County, where he found work on a local farm.

On Aug. 14, 1934, he was united in marriage to Sarah Eleanor Coalter at the Silver Creek Methodist Church near Galva. To this union were born five children, Virginia, George, Jeanette, Margaret and Eugene. They made their home and farmed in Ida County until 1946, when the Guenther family moved to a farm in Erin Township near Britt.

Gilbert developed the farm, fed cattle and hogs, and later put his efforts into grain farming. His wife, Eleanor, passed away suddenly in 1961.

He entered into a second marriage with Katherine Ruggles of Mason City. In 1967, Katherine succumbed to cancer.

In the fall of 1968, he was united in marriage to Helen Bell of Charles City. Gilbert continued to farm with his son, Gene, but gradually retired. He and Helen were able to travel to every state in the country. In July of this year, poor health prompted their move into the Kanawha Community Home, where he died on Dec. 4, 1998, at the age of 91.

Gilbert was a 52-year member of the Britt United Methodist Church where he taught Sunday school culminating 62 straight years of teaching. He was chairman of the Building Committee for the present church, and served in many capacities. He was a Farm Bureau Director and President, a Britt Farmer’s Co-op Director and President, one of the founders and past chairman of the Hancock County Cattlemen’s Association, a member of the Hancock County Pork Producers and was active in the Republican Party. He was on the Hancock County Appraisal Board for several years and was a charter member of the Britt Country Club.

He was well known as an avid supporter of Britt High School athletics and other community endeavors.

He is survived by his wife, Helen; two sons, George Guenther and his wife, Janice, of Corwith, and Eugene Guenther and his wife, Julie, of Britt; two daughters, Jeanette Gault and her husband, Jerry, of Spicer, Minn., and Margaret Bell and her husband, Robert, of Washington; a son-in-law, Bernard Theulen and his wife, Helen, of Blakesburg; 23 grandchildren; 29 great-grandchildren; a sister, Ethel Guenther of Hemet, Calif.; and many nieces, nephews and friends.