Rodger Wetherbee

December 8, 2009

Rodger R. Wetherbee, 78, of Conyers, Georgia, died on Friday, December 4, 2009.

Rodger, the son of Roe and Millie Wetherbee, was born and raised in Marshall, Minnesota. He had lived in the Atlanta area for about 45 years.

He was preceded in death by his parents; and his sister, Marge van der Linden.

He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Martha Jean; his children and their families, Steven, Anne and John, all of the Atlanta metro area; and three nephews, including Dirk van der Linden of Belmond.
©Belmond Independent 2009

Peter Daniels

December 15, 2009

Peter Daniels, 93, most recently a resident of the Rehabilitation Center of Belmond, died on Monday, December 7, 2009, at the Muse Norris Hospice in Mason City.

Funeral services were held on Saturday, December 12, at the Andrews Funeral Home in Belmond. Burial, with military rites, was in the Belmond Cemetery.

Peter Charles, was born on December 30, 1915 at Palsville, the son of Ben and Martha Daniels of Belmond. He attended school at Belmond and joined the Civilian Conservation Corps. He married Esther H. Mosiman on September 15, 1936 at Webster City. They both worked for Guy and Hazel Lynch for two years. Peter then worked for Thompson Seed Co. and then the Alaskan Highway. He was then drafted into the U.S. Navy during WW II and served two years in the Aleutian Islands. After the war he built several houses in Belmond and then farmed for seven years in Iowa and Minnesota. He came back to Belmond and built more houses, including eight nursing homes, before he retired.

He retired to an acreage near Garner, where he had a huge garden and sold vegetables at the farmers market. He also liked to raise and sell pumpkins. Peter was an avid fisherman and he had many secret fishing holes which he did not reveal to anyone. He was a member of the Calvary Baptist Church in Belmond, for many years and later was a member of the Clear Lake Regular Baptist Church.

Peter loved his family, was a good provider and the needs of his children always came first.

Preceding him in death were his brother, Bernard and his sister, Jeanette.

Survivors include his wife of the Belmond Care Center; his sons, Dwight (Rita), Charles (Jerene) and Timothy (Dixie) Daniels; grandchildren, Rochelle (Jon) Kirtland, Dana (Joel) Campbell, Steven (Susan) Daniels, Becky (John) Delvaux, Jodi (Clinton Fleming) Daniels and Peter B. and Kandyce Daniels; and great-grandchildren, Andy, Tyler and Ben Kirtland, Aaron and Emily Grace Campbell, Elizabeth and Tommy Delvaux and Elianna Fleming; and his sister, Elsie Meyer.
©Belmond Independent 2009

Joseph Anderson

December 29, 2009

Joseph N. Anderson, 80, died on Sunday, December 13, 2009, at home in Phoenix, Arizona, surrounded by family and friends.

Funeral services were held on Thursday, December 17.

Joseph Neil, was born on January 12, 1929 in Belmond. He lost his mother, Rosalie on his 12th birthday. Joe, his father Perry and his sister, Marilyn, moved to Bena, Minnesota in 1943, where his father was a fishing guide. They lived there for three or four years and then returned to Belmond, where Joe worked as a plumber's assistant for Frank's Plumbing.

In 1950, he joined the Navy and served as an engineman on the USS Preserver (ARS-8) and USS Mineral County (LST-988). He was discharged in October 1954 and returned home to Kanawha. There he met Virginia Wishek, a music teacher. They were married on July 3, 1955. Joe and Virginia moved to Phoenix. From 1961-64, he worked at the Camelback High School. From 1964-74, he was a stay-at-home dad and involved with his children in 4-H and other activities involving horses at Harelson Stables. From 1978-85, he worked several security jobs.

He retired from the Universal Technical Institute in 1988 and enjoyed traveling in his RV throughout the country, boating, fishing and hunting. Most of all, he loved being surrounded by his family and close friends.

Joe is survived by his wife; daughters, Jode (Ralph) King, Ninnette Stickles and Madeline (Glen) Reagan; sons, Perry (Angie) Anderson, Stewart (Wendy) Anderson and Benjamin (Kathy) Anderson; sister, Marilyn Ramm; grandchildren, Shawn, Kristan, Toni, Charles, Nicole, Blake, Joseph, Roy, Jacob, Alexandria, Todd and Zayne; and great-grandchildren, Frank, David, William, Naythan, Noah and Addison.
©Belmond Independent 2009

LuVerne Heginger

December 22, 2009

LuVerne L. Heginger, 74, of Belmond, died on Wednesday, December 16, 2009, at the Hancock County Hospital in Britt.

Funeral services were held on Monday, December 21, at the Klemme United Methodist church. Burial with military honors was in the Ell Township Cemetery, Klemme.

LuVerne LeRoy, the son of Carl John, Sr. and Etta Harris Heginger, was born on January 13, 1935 at Klemme. He attended school in Klemme and served in the U.S. Army from September 1954 through August 1957. He was discharged with the rank of SP3(T). He married Shirley Ann Green on a farm near Otho, on August 31, 1957. They had seven children. LuVerne worked in manufacturing, including 26 years at Winnebago Industries and New Idea in Fort Dodge for 13 years. He retired from Winnebago in 1997.

LuVerne was a jack-of-all-trades. He assisted with farm building demolitions, was a gravedigger and assistant caretaker at the Callender cemetery and worked for area farmers. He loved to plant flowers and enjoyed barbeques and fishing. He and Shirley did some traveling. He cherished times spent with this children and grandchildren. LuVerne was a member of the Klemme United Methodist Church.

He was preceded in death by his sister, Lois Ward; brothers, William and Duane; and granddaughter, Rhonda Heginger.

LuVerne is survived by his wife; sons, Ronald of Kanawha, Roger of Belmond, Gordon (Sara) of Kanawha, David (Tammy) of Klemme and Gary (fiancée, Jennifer Collier) of Council Bluffs; daughters, Joanne (Larry) Eckhoff of Belmond and Marilyn Heginger of Corwith; 15 grandchildren; 3 great-grandchildren; and siblings, Carl (Darlene) Heginger of Klemme, Lyle (Sue) Heginger of Belmond, Anthony (Liz) Heginger of Klemme, Rick Heginger of Klemme, Edna (John) VanGerpen of Marion, Zelda (Jerry) Scott of Clear Lake and Sharon Reysack of Garner.
©Belmond Independent 2009

Bernadine Chandler

February 2, 2010

Bernadine "Bernie" Chandler, 97, died on Wednesday, December 16, 2009, at the Rehabilitation Center of Belmond.

A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m., on Saturday, February 6, 2010, at the Dugger Funeral Home in Belmond. Pastor Mike Druhl will officiate. Burial of cremated remains will take place later in the Alexander cemetery. Friends may call on the family one hour before the service on Saturday.

Bernadine Viola, the daughter of Elias and Helena Pearson Klinefelter, was born on November 27, 1912 in Alexander. She grew up in the Alexander area, attended country schools and graduated from the Alexander High School. Bernadine married John Keith Chandler on October 6, 1932 in Albert Lea. They made their home in California during World War II while Keith was in the service. After the war they moved back to Belmond. Bernie worked at several jobs throughout her life. She and Keith had the Coffee Shop (famous for their hamburgers) and Bernie worked at Super Valu Grocery, Tip Top Grocery and P&G Grocery.

She is remembered as a great cook, traveler and avid bridge player. Her family was the love of her life. Bernie was a member of the Belmond United Methodist Church and the United Methodist Women. She was a long-time member of the VFW Auxiliary.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband; first born at birth; son, Gerald (Jerry); sisters, Evenette, Mildred and Lavonne; brother, Shorty; niece, Diane Lerdal; and four brothers-in-law.

Bernie is survived by her grandchildren, Lance (Kathy) Chandler of Belmond and Lane (SueAnn) Chandler of Burnsville, Minnesota; great-grandchildren, Jordan, Stephanie, Adam (Alyssa), Ally and Aaron; daughter-in-law, Sandy (Terry) Anderson of Belmond; sister, Jeannette Schroeder of Belmond; and sister-in-law, Ruby Klinefelter of Belmond.
©Belmond Independent 2010

Eva Olson

December 29, 2009

Eva P. Olson, 90, of Woodbury, Minnesota, died on Saturday, December 26, 2009.

Visitation will be at the Michaelson Funeral Home in Owatonna, on Wednesday, December 30, from 3-7:00 p.m. and at the Our Savior's Lutheran Church, on Thursday, December 31, from 9-10:00 a.m. Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m., at the church, with interment in the Bohemian National Cemetery in Owatonna.

Eva was born in Owatonna, on November 5, 1919, the daughter of George and Anna (Truhlar) Pichner. She graduated from the Owatonna High School and married Edwin C. Olson on April 15, 1945.

Eva loved music and played accordion and piano for the Jerry Ripka and Al Ruzak Bands in the 1940's. She worked at the Owatonna Bakery where she met her husband. Eva and Ed opened a bakery in Belmond which they operated until his death in 1954. She worked at the Belmond clinic and then operated her own beauty shop in her home until she returned to Owatonna in 1979 to be closer to her family. Then was employed with the Wenger Corporation and the Owatonna School District until her retirement in 1989.

She adored her twin granddaughters and was an after school granddaughter sitter for several years. She especially enjoyed helping with their music lessons and playing the piano as they practiced the violin and viola. In January 2009, she moved to Woodbury to be closer to her daughter.

Eva was active in the Fraternal Order of Eagles Auxiliary and CSA; she served as secretary for both organizations for over ten years. She was a member of Our Savior's Lutheran. Eva volunteered with Meals on Wheels, pancake breakfasts at the Eagles, was a chaperone and cook for youth trips to Colorado, and baked for many fundraisers. For her work in the community, Eva was honored as the Steele County Senior Citizen of the Year (1998), CSA Fraternalist of the Year (2000) and Minnesota State Auxiliary Madam Secretary of the Year (2006).

Eva was preceded in death by her husband; brothers-in-law, Anton Olson, Merlin Cole, Jimmie Olson and Rex Metcalf; and sisters-in-law, Erlys Cole and Irene Metcalf.

She is survived by her children, Ed (Eileen) Olson of Owatonna and Barb (Mike) Brown of Maplewood; grandchildren, Stephanie (Kyle) Hendricks of E. Peoria, Illinois and Gretchen Olson of Owatonna and her fiancée, Travis Anderson of Waterville; sister, Ruth (Larry) Ruehling of Owatonna; and sisters-in-law, Marion Utpadel of Owatonna, Mary Ann (Bill) Rohwer of Medford and JoAnn Olson of Ellendale.
©Belmond Independent 2009