Sersland, Edgar T. 1914-1991

SERSLAND, HAMMEL, GIPP, DANIELS, HEGGE, TWESME, ANDERSON, NELSON

Posted By: Volunteer Transcriber
Date: 5/28/2007 at 20:44:59

Edgar T. Sersland

NEWTON, IA. - Services will be at 7 p.m. Sunday at First Lutheran Church here for Edgar T. Sersland, 76, of Newton, who died of a heart attack Wednesday at home. Additional services will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Washington Prairie Lutheran Church in Decorah. Burial will be in Washington Prairie Cemetery.

Mr. Sersland was born near Decorah and moved to Newton in 1941. He retired as owner of a Coast to Coast Store and Sersland Furniture. He was a member of the Lutheran Church here, Kiwanis Club and the Luther College Board of Regents, and he had been president of the Newton Chamber of Commerce.

Surviving are his wife, Gerda; a son, Tom of Clive; four sisters, Alice Hammel, Edith Gipp, Rebecca Daniels and Norma Hegg, all of Decorah; and two grandchildren.

Friends may call after 3 p.m. today at Reese Funeral Chapel here where the family will be present from seven to 8 p.m. Memorial contributions may be made to his church's building fund, Hospice of Jasper County or the Sersland-Nelson Luther College scholarship fund.

~ The Des Moines Register, July 1991
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Edgar T. Sersland

Edgar T. Sersland, 77, of 1122 S. 12th Ave. West, a longtime Newton businessman and community leader, died of a heart attack Wednesday night at his home.

Funeral services will be held at 7 p.m. Sunday at the First Lutheran Church and at 11 a.m. Monday at Washington Prairie Lutheran Church in Decorah.

The Rev. H. Eugene Cedarholm will conduct services in Newton. The Rev. Richard Sansgaard and the Rev. Cederholm will conduct services in Decorah.

Burial will be in the Washington Prairie Cemetery in Decorah.

A Memorial has been established to the First Lutheran Church building fund.

Survivors are his wife, Gerda; one son, Dr. Tom Sersland of Des Moines; two grandsons, Jeff Twesme of Ames and Eric Twesme of Wautoma, Wis.; and four sisters, Alice Hammel, Edith Gipp, Rebecca Daniels and Norma Hegge, all of Decorah.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Theodore and Helga Anderson Sersland, a daughter Carmen Twesme, and two brothers, Herald and Thelmer.

Mr. Sersland was born August 9, 1914 on a farm near Decorah. He graduated from Decorah High School and from the Luther College in Decorah in 1938.

He had been with Coast to Coast stores before moving to Newton in 1941. He owned and operated a coast-to-coast store in Newton and Sersland furniture for 40 years. He retired 12 years ago.

Mr. Sersland was a leader and supporter of many community service organizations and projects.

A recipient of the Newton Community Service Award, he served many local boards and communities including the Central Planning Committee for the Park Center continuing care retirement facility.

Most recently, he chaired a committee responsible for disseminating information about the Willowbrook Center, which will be affiliated with Park Centre.

Mr. Sersland also served as president of the Greater Newton Area Chamber of Commerce.

One of Mr. Sersland's major interest was Christian higher education. He is credited with recruiting more than 150 local students for Luther College where as Sersland-Nelson scholarship was established several years ago for the benefit of local area students.

Luther College bestowed upon Mr. Sersland its first Distinguished Service Award and more recently awarded Mr. Sersland his wife Gerda, the first Pioneer Memorial Award. The award recognizes pioneer spirit in the second century of Luther founders.

He served on Luther College's Board of Regents for 12 years.

Mr. Sersland was an active member of the First Lutheran Church in Newton and had served on the church council several times. He taught Sunday School to high school age students for several years and served on several church building committees.

He had also served on several state and national church councils and was named as a delegate to several church conventions.

Mr. Sersland was married to Gerda Nelson July 25, 1937 in Decorah.

~ The Newton (IA) Daily News July 1991

Transcriber note: different spelling for Hegge/Hegg.