Obituary of Aletha Anna Engelken

DYERSVILLE, IOWA Aletha Anna (Haas) Engelken, 83, of Manchester, formerly of Earlville and Dyersville, passed away on June 7, 2015, at Marietta's Place in Manchester. Visitation will be held from 4:00 – 8:00 p.m. Wednesday, June 10, 2015, at the Kramer Funeral Home, 750 12th Ave SW, in Dyersville where a parish vigil service will be held at 6:00 p.m. and a Rosary will be recited at 8:00 p.m. Visitation will continue at the funeral home from 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. Thursday, prior to Mass. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, June 11, 2015, at St. Francis Xavier Basilica in Dyersville with burial in the church cemetery. Rev. Dennis Quint will officiate. Aletha was born March 26, 1932, near Guttenberg the daughter of Hubert and Anna (Drilling) Haas. She graduated from Garnavillo High School with the class of 1949. She was united in marriage to Edwin Aloysius Engelken on October 17, 1953, in Garnavillo. Aletha and Edwin moved to Earlville in 1956, where they were dairy farmers until they retired to Dyersville in 1995. She was a member of St. Joseph and St. Francis Xavier Catholic Churches and enjoyed crocheting as a hobby as well as gardening and baking. She is survived by eight children: Terry (Becky) Engelken of Washington, IA, Linda (Robert) Fischer of Vinton, IA, LuAnn (David) Cook of Nemaha, IA, Lisa (Craig) McEnany of Nevada, IA, Tom (Cherrie) Engelken of Earlville, IA, Lori (Curt) Timmerman of Marshall, MN, Lynae (Tim) Schott of Prairie du Sac, WI and Lanette (David) Bloem of West Branch, IA and 25 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild; a sister, Lucina Morris and a brother, LaVern (Bernice) Haas, brothers-in-law: George (Sherry) Engelken and Cletus (Arlene) Engelken; and sisters-in-law, MaryLou Engelken, Irene Engelken and Alma Brehm. She is preceded in death by her husband, Edwin, her parents, parents-in-law, William and Monica (Gaul) Engelken, a brother, Erwin Haas, sisters and brothers-in-law: Imelda (Jim) Boeckenstedt, Anita (Allie) Klostermann, Art Kerper, Richard Morris, Elmer and Julius Engelken, and Charles Brehm. Memorials are preferred to Marietta's Memory Care Unit, Regional Medical Center Hospice and the Basilica of St. Francis Xavier. Online condolences may be left for the family at www.kramerfuneral.com.