LINDBERG, Edith Martha (Johnson) 1921-2005

LINDBERG, JOHNSON

Posted By: S. Bell
Date: 3/14/2014 at 23:49:52

[Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, Sunday, Jan. 16, 2005]

Edith M. Lindberg (1921-2005)

WATERLOO - Edith Martha Lindberg was born on Oct. 27, 1921, on a farm south of Vinton, Iowa, daughter of Oscar and Selma Kristina Johnson Lindberg.

Ms. Lindberg attended a one room school in Benton County and graduated from Vinton High School in 1940, where she took the Normal Training Course whereby after passing the state exam was certified to teach in a one room school. At the age of 18 she accepted a teaching position in Eden No. 9 School in Benton County, which she had attended also as a student. The seven students in six grades were her neighborhood children who ranged from primary grades to fifth and sixth-grades. The school was one half mile from her parents' farm home. It was an enjoyable year with a pump organ and all, but it was closed the following year due to, too few students. Consolidation of schools was becoming more prevalent.

For the following two years she attended Iowa State Teachers College, which is now the University of Northern Iowa, in Cedar Falls, Iowa and received the Two Year Diploma in Elementary Education. This enabled her to accept positions in town schools, which she did.

Later, she went two more years at Iowa State Teachers College and received the Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1947. The same year she started teaching in the Waterloo Community Schools. In 1960 she received the Master of Arts Degree. She retired from the Waterloo Community Schools in 1986 after having taught there 39 years. During her tenure in the Waterloo Community Schools, she taught classes of students of average IQ and above who were not reading on grade level - usually two years below grade level. This involved a lot of Diagnostic Reading Testing, writing reports and providing reading materials to strengthen reading skills. When the students were reading on grade level, they were dismissed. She taught in all the elementary schools on the East and West sides in Waterloo during these 39 years. The last four years were spent teaching second grade in a Self-Contained Classroom in Kittrell Elementary School, five blocks away from her home.

In 1959 her parents moved to Waterloo from Vinton while she was still teaching in Waterloo and they stayed in her home until their deaths in 1965 and 1983 respectively. She was fortunate to have such pleasant and easy parents to care for.

She enjoyed traveling and was in Europe five times, 1932, 1948, 1966, 1983 and in 1992 visiting the Scandinavian Countries and England. It was great for her to see all these places and Sweden where her parents lived and grew up and to see the many relatives.

She was a member of the Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, Mary Circle, Quilting, Altar Guild and the KeyClub

Survived by First Cousins, Russell (Joan) Lindberg and Carol (Robert) Grimm both of Vinton and their children, Julie (Graeme) Pierson of Pella, Deborah (Kevin) Gertsen of Marion, Barbara Lindberg of Dublin, Ireland, Laura (Tom) Wirth of Robins, Robert T. (Laura) Grimm, Jr. of Alexandria, VA, Jeremy Grimm of Vinton and their children, Lauren, Grant, and Jackson Gertsen, and Ryan and Rachel Wirth.

Preceded in death by her parents; and one first cousin, Harold Lindberg.

Services were held on Saturday at the Kearns, Huisman-Schumacher Chapel on Kimball with burial in the Elmwood Cemetery.

Memorials may be directed to the American Cancer Society.

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SSDI:
Name: Edith M. Lindberg
State of Issue: Iowa
Date of Birth: Thursday October 27, 1921
Date of Death: Thursday January 13, 2005
Est. Age at Death: 83 years, 2 months, 17 days
Confirmation: Verified
Last known residence:
City: Waterloo
County: Black Hawk
State: Iowa