Walter Ronnfeldt 1932-2003

RONNFELDT, POWELL, KNOX, BURNS, LITWIN, SEITZ, PFIFFNER

Posted By: SGF (email)
Date: 3/19/2003 at 00:22:55

Walter G. Ronnfeldt, age 70, died Tuesday, January 14, 2003, at Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls, S.D., after suffering a brain hemorrhage. Funeral services were held Saturday, January 18, at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Hartley, Iowa, with Fr. William Paul McKane officiating. Burial was in Pleasant View Cemetery. Military services were given by Arthur W. Kirchoff Post #228. Warner Funeral Home assisted with arrangements. Walter was born February 7, 1932, in Lansing, to Chris Ronnfeldt and Josephine Powell. After graduating from Waterville High School in 1950, Walt served in the Navy and Marines from March 1952 until 1955.

On December 29, 1955, he married Margaret May Ann Knox at St. Agnes Catholic church near Burr Oak, Iowa. Walt attended the University of Iowa, where he received his B.S. in pharmacy in 1960. After graduation, Walt worked as a pharmacist in several Iowa communities before settling in Hartley in 1968. In 1969, Walt co-founded PBR, Inc. for the purchase of Hartley Drug, which he helped manage until 1995. During his 34 years of community leadership, he served on the Hartley City Council, St. Joseph's Catholic Church, Knights of Columbus, and Northeast Iowa Low Income Housing Association. Walt was an avid golfer and member of Meadowbrook Golf and Country Club.

Left to cherish his memory are his wife, Mary, of Hartley; six children, Phyllis Burns of Hartley, Michael and Gwen Ronnfeldt of Derby, Kansas, Don and Jacque Ronnfeldt of Iowa City, Tom and Jean Ronnfeldt of Bloomington, Minn., Nancy and James Litwin of Edina, Minn., Joan and Pete Seitz of Cascade, Iowa; twelve grandchildren; three brothers, William of Omaha, Neb., and Alfred and Robert of Waterville; one sister, Janice Pfiffner of Harpers Ferry; and other relatives and friends. Casket bearers were Troy Knox, Steve Pfiffner, Roy Ronnfeldt, Mark Ryan, Kyle Ryan, and Christopher Ronnfeldt. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be given to the Walter G. Ronnfeldt Scholarship Fund at P.O. Box 87, Hartley IA 51346.

©Waukon Standard 2003
-source Waukon Standard, January 22, 2003