Obituaries

Pamela Sue (Johnson) Freitag, 54, passed away at Central Community Hospital on February 23, 2016, after battling a life-long illness. She was born in Hinsdale, Illinois, to Paul L. and Betty L. (Pust) Johnson on August 7, 1961. She was a graduate of Central Community School and attended Kirkwood Community College. On April 4, 1981 she married Dennis Freitag at Bethany Lutheran Church in Elkader.  To this union, a daughter, Ann Marie, was born.

Patrick William Keleher, 77, passed away Friday, February 19, 2016, at Central Community Hospital in Elkader.  Pat was born October 3, 1938, in Elkader, to Leo and Lucy Keleher. He remained a devoted Catholic throughout his life. Pat graduated from the Elkader High School in 1957 and started working for a local contractor.

In 1961, he married, his sweetheart, Joanne Havlicek, of Monona. That same year he went to work for Costigan Construction. After a short time they moved to the family farm where they lived for many years.  

Juneaver Wilhelmina McNichols, 98, Farmersburg, Iowa, died Friday, February 12, 2016, at the Elkader Care Center, Elkader, Iowa. Juneaver was born March 6, 1917, in Farmersburg, Iowa, the oldest of four children to George and Laura (Reinke) Radloff. She was baptized and confirmed at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Farmersburg and was a lifelong member there. Juneaver graduated from Farmersburg High School in 1935 and received a degree in business from Wartburg College in Waverly in 1938. She was an accomplished pianist, studying under Professor Heist. She worked three years at Lutheran Mutual Life Insurance in Waverly before moving to San Diego, California, and worked in the office of Solar Aircraft. It was in San Diego that she met a young Marine on leave.

Kathryn Ann (Kotek) Fuhrman, 88, of Volga, Iowa, died Saturday, February 6, 2016, at Gundersen Medical Center in La Crosse, Wisconsin. She was born on July 25, 1927, in Independence, Iowa, to Benjamin and Ruth (Pierce) Kotek. She graduated from Lamont High School in 1945, and from St. Mary’s Hospital School of Nursing in Rochester, Minnesota in 1948. Kathryn was a member of the Army Nurse Corp.

On November 20, 1948, Kathryn was united in marriage to Clarence Fuhrman in Lamont, Iowa, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. To this union two children were born.