Gladys Marie (Hertges) Wolfe

Monday, April 16, 2018 1:54 pm

Gladys Marie (Hertges) Wolfe passed away peacefully Saturday, April 14, 2018, at the Aase Haugen Home in Decorah, at the age of 88, which was also her birthday. Her cause of death was related to Parkinson’s disease. Mass of Christian Burial is at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 18, at St. Benedict Catholic Church in Decorah, with Rev. Phillip Gibbs officiating. Burial is in St. Benedict Cemetery immediately following the church service. A luncheon has been planned for all to attend, immediately following the burial, at the Steyer Opera House in the Hotel Winneshiek on Water Street in Decorah. Visitation with the family present is from 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 17, at the Fjelstul Funeral Home on East Water Street. The family will receive friends and relatives at the church at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, commencing one hour before the service.

Gladys Marie Edith Hertges was born April 14, 1930, on the family farm located a few miles north of Ossian. Her parents were Michael Hertges, (born Nov. 22, 1879, in Luxembourg, Europe) and Anna (Zweibohmer) Hertges, born April 11, 1898, near Ossian. The youngest of 12 children, Gladys was raised on the family farm, and educated at St. Francis de Sales Catholic School in Ossian, graduating from high school in 1948. She was her senior class president and valedictorian.
She married Zeno Joseph Wolfe May 31, 1949, at the St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church. Zeno’s parents were Joseph and Anna (Giesing) Wolfe of Festina. Together Gladys and Zeno farmed on a dairy farm in Frankville Township located due east of the Washington Prairie Lutheran Church on what is now known as the Centennial Road.

Gladys and Zeno were the proud parents of seven children: Marie Josephine, born March 19, 1950, and married to Greg Grant of Decorah; Philip Alexander, born Nov. 2, 1952, and married to Doris Jean Berka of Cresco; Peter Quintin, born March 13, 1955, and married to George Belitsos of Cincinnati, Ohio; Paul Russell, born May 23, 1956, and married to Pamela Jackson, of Corning; Mark Donald, born Feb. 19, 1959, and married to Mari Nesteby, of Decorah; Marcia Ann, born Sept. 27, 1962, and married to Jon Madrigal, of Decorah; Melissa Marie, born Sept. 26, 1970, and engaged to be married to Jim Welsch July 6, 2018, of Longmont, Colo.

Gladys led a very active life on the family farm, raising her seven children, and tending to a very large garden. She was well known as an excellent cook and baker. When her children were still at home she was regularly baking as many as 11 loaves of homemade bread per week. She also was proficient at canning and preserving the garden and orchard produce. Gladys also was a talented seamstress and quilter. She made many quilts in her lifetime and said she stopped counting them after 120 quilts. She loved feeding the birds and hated the deer.

Unfortunately, her son Philip died tragically in a car accident Oct. 5, 1976. Later, Doris, Philip’s widow, married Tom Taylor of Cresco, in 1979. Together they had a son, Trevor. Six years later, her husband Zeno died of colon cancer June 17, 1982, only a year after the couple had moved from the family farm to their home on Ridge Road in Decorah.

A widow at age 52, Gladys never re-married. After Zeno’s death she was employed at the Decorah Greenhouse for a number of years and also at the Decorah Senior Center. She took German classes at Luther College. She also became a certified tax preparer through courses provided by H and R Block. Gladys was also a certified Master Gardener and active in the local gardening club. She had won much recognition for her beautiful garden over the years.

Gladys had the good fortune to do some travelling, usually through tours provided by the local bank club, and visited many areas of the United States including Hawaii, as well as a tour of many countries in Europe. She was very proud of her Luxembourg heritage.

Gladys is survived by six of her seven children and their spouses, including 11 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren: Andrew (Jennie) Wolfe and children Delaney and Philip Carter; Trevor (Amy) Taylor and children Tom, Wyatt, and Caden; Sarah (Lynn) Burnett and children Sam and Bo; Susan (Adam) Peterson and children Lydia and Quinn; Cathy (Joey) Houdek and children Eve, Aurora, Willow and Joseph; Joseph (Jenna) Wolfe and children Jadelyn and Jacob; Elizabeth (Ryan) Graf, Rachel (Ryan) Grenko, Anna Madrigal and special friend Ryan Crum; Zachariah (Tania) Wolfe, and Jeremiah Wolfe; Rachel and Ryan Grenko are expecting to add to the list of great-grandchildren with a baby due this June.

Gladys also is survived by one sister, Dorothy (Rusty) Barnes of Cresco; two sisters-in-law, Velma (Greg) Hertges of Waterloo and Theresa (Donald) Hertges of Ossian; one brother-in-law, Norbert Wolfe, of Corpus Christie, Texas; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Gladys was preceded in death by her husband, Zeno; her son, Philip; her parents, Michael and Anna Hertges; and her parents-in-law, Joseph and Anna Wolfe. She also was preceded in death by 10 of her siblings and in-laws: Nicholas (Pauline) Hertges, Mayme (Edwin) Klee, Greg Hertges, Hildegard (Roy) Sundry, Clarence (Harriet) Hertges, Florence (Carl) Hawkins, Leonard (Viola) Hertges, Ralph (Pauline) Hertges, Donald Hertges, Marcelite (Quintin) Bucheit, and Rusty Barnes. A number of nieces and nephews also have preceded her in death.

Fjelstul Funeral Home in Decorah is serving the family. Online condolences may be made at fjelstul.com