Charles Frieden

Charles LeRoy Frieden, 71, of Elgin, Iowa, passed away May 8, 2019, at the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics in Iowa City, Iowa.

Chuck was born February 7, 1948, in West Union, Iowa, to Floyd and Coranel (Rothlisberger) Frieden. He was the third of their five children, and the first to be born in a hospital.

Chuck loved growing up with David, Dianne, Jessie and JoNell in the stone house along State Highway 56. A crucial part of growing up was being an active member of the Illyria Community Church.

Chuck began working on their Fayette County farm from a young age. He described Floyd as his best friend and greatest teacher in showing him how to be a thoughtful steward of their land.

Roger Conner

Roger D. Conner, 61, of Fayette, passed away Friday, May 3, 2019, at Maple Crest Manor in Fayette. His loving family surrounded him.

William Shafar Jr.

Birth Date: October 29, 1968

Date of Death: May 11, 2019

It is with lots of love that I say I will miss my brother William Shafar. He had an amazing last night on earth that included bowling with friends, and of course it included singing one of his favorite songs at karaoke. – “Every rose has its thorn.” He had an overflowing amount of love for those he called friends and had an amazing way of accepting people for who they are, even when they did not do the same. We always ended every text conversation, phone call, or visit with LMB – so one last time I say to you brother – “I will Love You, Miss you, Bye.”

Love Cindi         Adv

Lavanna Frey

On Friday, May 31, 2019, 11 a.m. a celebration of Life will be held at the Redeemer Lutheran Church, 407 West Bradford St, West Union, IA. On Saturday, June 1, at 10:30 a.m. a Celebration of life will be held at the Harvest Baptist Church, 614 2nd Ave S., Fort Dodge. IA 50501.

Dennis Schaller

Dennis Ray Schaller, 59, of Spring Grove, Minnesota passed away on February 26, 2019 at Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

Dennis was born on September 24, 1959 in West Union, Iowa to David and Arleta (Jellings) Schaller. He attended school in West Union, graduating from North High School in 1978. He received his degree from Northeast Iowa Community College, Calmar, IA in the Industrial Electrician program, and started his career at Midland Tile in Redfield, Iowa. In 1990, he began working for Northern Engraving in Spring Grove, Minnesota where he worked as an electrician and, maintenance foreman until the time of his death.

In 1990, Dennis was married to Brenda Knutson. They resided in Decorah, Iowa. To this marriage, two sons were born, Casey John and Zachary Stephen. They later divorced.

Linus Menne

Linus Donald Menne, 72, of West Union, Iowa died Friday, May 12, 2019 at the Good Samaritan Home after a long illness. Linus was born on October 5, 1946 in Ossian, Iowa to Bernard and Irene (Wieling) Menne. Linus graduated from St Francis De Sales School in Ossian, Iowa in 1964. He attended University of LaCrosse for several years. As a teenager, he worked part-time for a milk hauler who collected the milk from farmers, lifting cans of milk onto a truck. After graduation, he had a milk route with Nordness Creamery resulting in extended knowledge of the area farmers and where they lived. 

Julia Martin

Julia Ann (Pettit) Martin, 92, of Elgin, Iowa passed away Saturday, April 27, 2019 at Maple Crest Manor Nursing Home in Fayette.  

She was born on March 27, 1927 in Independence, Iowa to Pearly and Margaret (Lane) Pettit. She was baptized at St. John’s Catholic Church in Independence, Iowa and confirmed at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Lansing, Iowa.  Judy attended several years at Village Creek Country School, finished grade school at Immaculate Conception School and graduated from Immaculate Conception High School in 1945. After high school, she worked as a typist at Lansing Co for several years.

Judy was united in marriage with Giles Martin, son of Melvin and Mary (McCoy) Martin on February 11, 1947, at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church and they spent their married life in Elgin. They first farmed and later built the family home in town where their youngest son resides.  

Roger Conner

Roger Conner, 61, of Fayette, died Friday, May 3, 2019, at Maple Crest Manor in Fayette, surrounded by his loving family.

A celebration of Roger’s life will be held at Klocks Island Park in Fayette starting at 5:00 p.m., Friday, May 10, 2019. Becker-Milnes Funeral Home in Fayette is assisting Roger’s family.

Ryan Upton

     Ryan “Easy Money” Lee Upton, 46, of Waucoma, Iowa died Sunday, April 28, 2019, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Ryan was born November 5, 1972 to Ronald and Linda (Kamaus) Upton in Iowa City, Iowa. He attended North Fayette High School, earned his GED from NICC and then attended John Deere Tech.

    Ryan spent many years as a truck driver, with the majority of his recent career driving for Lynch Livestock Express. He was a dedicated member of the Postville Fire Department and an enthusiastic advocate for Epilepsy Awareness in support of his great niece. In his spare time, Ryan enjoyed fishing, racing, watching Chicago Fire on TV, riding dirt bikes and four wheelers and eating good food. His greatest joy was spending time with his children.

Curtis McCallum

Curtis E. McCallum, 83, of Hawkeye, died Tuesday, April 30, 2019, at the Hillcrest Home in Sumner.