ALBERS, Donna (Harmon) 1931-2008

ALBERS, SCHAFER, FERNHOLTZ, KNIGHT SCHAFER, CAMPBELL, HARMON

Posted By: County Coordinator (email)
Date: 10/17/2008 at 11:01:59

Donna Albers, age 77 of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, formerly of Larchwood, Iowa, died Tuesday, October 07, 2008 at Sanford Centennial Hospice Cottage in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Funeral service will be 11:00 AM, Saturday, Oct. 11th at Grandview Covenant Church, rural Larchwood, Iowa. Rev. Penny Nance officiating. Burial will follow at church cemetery.

Visitation will be Friday, Oct. 10th from 2 – 8 PM, with the family present from 6 – 8 PM at Jurrens Funeral Home of Larchwood. There will be a prayer service at 7:00 PM at the funeral home. Donna Yvonne Albers was born July 4, 1931 in Garrison, North Dakota. She grew up on a dairy farm near Garrison, ND and attended Garrison Community School. After school she remained with her family until age 17, working the day to day operation of the farm.

In 1974 Donna received her LPN degree and began working at Royal C. Johnson Veteran’s Hospital in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. She was united in marriage to G. Glen Albers on June 9, 1979 at First Lutheran Church in Valley Springs, South Dakota. Together, they made their home on a acreage south of Rowena, South Dakota on the Iowa side of the border. In 1989 she earned her Registered Nursing Degree from the University of South Dakota and worked at the Tuff Memorial Home in Hills, Minnesota and Sanford Hospice in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. After retiring from nursing in 1997, she began working at HyVee Floral Department in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

She was a member of Grandview Covenant Church in rural Larchwood, Iowa and was very active in several capacities of the church. She also was a member of the Mary Chilton Chapter, Daughters of American Revolution and the VFW Auxiliary. She enjoyed sewing, computers and loved traveling and camping with her family. Her family remembers her as a very competitive SCRABBLE player. She also enjoyed being an Amateur Radio Operator.

On February 1, 2005, Donna was involved in a automobile accident and shortly after diagnosed with cancer. She courageously battled the disease undergoing several courses of Chemotherapy. She remained living with Glen until September 6, 2008 when she entered Sanford Centennial Hospice Cottage in Sioux Falls, South Dakota where she remained until her death this past Tuesday, October 7, 2008, at the age of 77.

She is survived by her husband, Glen Albers of Sioux Falls, South Dakota; five children, Douglas (Marge) Schafer of Olivet, South Dakota, Cindy (Larry) Fernholz of Wessington, South Dakota, Darryl Knight-Schafer of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Jon (Amy) Schafer of Sioux Falls, South Dakota and Jan Campbell of Sioux Falls, South Dakota; seven step-children, Gary (Joan) Albers of Gatesville, Texas, Gale (John) Viereck of Larchwood, Iowa, Gene (Becky) Albers of Larchwood, Iowa, Gwen (Don) Van Veldhuizen of Larchwood, Iowa, Ginger Doherty of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Grant Albers of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Mick Albers of Storm Lake, Iowa; twenty-two grandchildren; twenty-one great-grandchildren; an aunt, Eva Pierskalla of Minneapolis, Minnesota; and many cousins, nieces, nephews and friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Jay and Mable Harmon; a brother, Donald Harmon; and a son, Jay Schafer.

(Jurrens Funeral Home obituary)