Category Archives: Obituaries

Berneda “Bea” Oswalt, 92, of Sully, died Jan. 2, 2021. A private graveside service was held Wednesday, Jan. 6, at Sully Cemetery. Most of the summer of 1928, her mother Alice (Baarda) Vonk sat in front of a block of ice, placed in a metal washtub with a fan blowing over it, keeping cool during her...

Merlyn Ray Elscott, 70, of Newton, passed away peacefully, surrounded by family, on Dec. 29, 2020, following a year-long battle with cancer. A private graveside service was held at Sully Cemetery, Monday, Jan. 4. Merlyn was born Feb. 14, 1950, in Oskaloosa. He was the second of six children born to Glen and Verna (Vander Beek) Elscott....

Bruce Ervin Walker was born Oct. 7, 1935, in Des Moines to Ervin H. and Freda Fern (Cooper) Walker. He died Dec. 24, 2020, at the age of 85 in Mission, TX. Funeral services will be held Saturday, Jan. 9, at 1 p.m. at First Baptist Church in Monroe. Burial will follow at Silent City...

Dick Vander Laan, 83, of Pella, suffered a stroke at his home on Christmas Day and passed away Dec. 26, 2020, at Pella Regional Health Center. Funeral services will be held Saturday, Jan. 2, at 10 a.m. at Calvary Christian Reformed Church, Pella. Interment will follow in the Oakwood Cemetery, Pella. Public visitation without family...

Duane “Whitey” Wanders, 80, of Barnes City, passed away Sunday, Dec. 27, 2020, at Mahaska Health Partnership Hospice Serenity House in Oskaloosa. Funeral services will begin at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 31, at Holland-Coble Funeral Home in Montezuma. Burial will be held in the Barnes City Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be...

Herman C. Rook, 90, of Pella, passed away Thurs-day, Dec. 17, 2020. Private funeral services were held  Monday, Dec. 21.  Memorials have been designated for Heartland Reformed Church and American Cancer Society (in honor of his brother Lawrence Rook). Herman C. Rook was born Apr. 20, 1930, to Cornelius “Case” and Ella (Stehr) Rook, near Indianola. At...

Charles Awtry, 93, of Searsboro, died Sunday evening, Dec. 20, 2020, at Montezuma Specialty Care. Graveside services were held at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 23, at Hewitt Cemetery near Galesburg with Pastor George Salnave officiating. Charles Edward Awtry, the son of Giles and Ruth (Ramage) Awtry, was born June 12, 1927, near Galesburg. At age...