Russell E. Pearson 1914 - 1997
PEARSON, STANLEY, NELDEBERG
Posted By: Connie Swearingen-Volunteer (email)
Date: 8/17/2014 at 21:52:30
20 August 1997
Russell E. Pearson, 83, of Onawa, died Monday, August 4, 1997, at the Burgess Memorial Hospital in Onawa.
Mr. Pearson was born January, 28, 1914, in Wilsonville, NE, the son of Cordney and Grace E. (Stanley) Pearson. He graduated from Wilsonville High School and attended Sioux Fall College in Sioux Fall. He graduated from Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science.
He married Katherine Neldeberg on July 2, 1939, in Whiting, Iowa. The couple moved to Onawa from Omaha in November 1944.
He operated Pearson Funeral Home until 1984, at which time he assumed an advisory position. He had been a funeral director since 1936 and was licensed in Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota.
He was a member of the Kiwanis Club in Onawa for 53 years, over 38 with perfect attendance, and attended 35 International Conventions. He had held all the offices in the Kiwanis Club of Onawa as well as serving as Lieutenant Governor in 1956 and the Governor in 1968 of the Nebraska Iowa District of Kiwanis International. In. 1971-1972 Russ served as Chairman of the International New Club Building Committee. Under his leadership a 50 year record was set when 256 new clubs were chartered. Russ was Chairman of the Re-divisioning Committee of the Nebraska-Iowa District in 1976-77. He and his wife, Katherine, were key in establishing the Kiwanis Scholarship Foundation in June 1983. His latest project was serving as General Chairman of the Committee to relocate the local C.& N.W. Railroad Depot in Onawa to preserve it as a museum for future generations.
He served on the Monona County School Board from 1953-1959. He was general chairman to solicit funds for a new hospital in Onawa in the 1960s, and was the chairman of the "Blue Lake Restoration Committee". He received the Jaycees "Boss of the Year Award" in 1974.
He served as president of the Onawa Chamber of Commerce for two terms, chaired the committee to build a new shelter house in Gaukel Park in Onawa, held various offices in the Lutheran Church and was the finance committee chairman in Faith Lutheran Church when it was built, and was a member of the Vesper Lodge 223 A.F. & A.M., the Independent Order of the Odd Fellows 164, the Abu Bekr Shrine and Consistory in Sioux City, and the Danish Brotherhood Lodge. He served on the committee to build the Onawa Country Club and helped get legislation passed for the Onawa and Decatur, NE, bridge. He assisted in many youth programs.
Survivors include his wife; a daughter, Joyce Pearson of Denver, CO; two granddaughters, Kathy Scrivner and Jennifer and her husband, Jeff Perry, all of Denver Colorado; a brother¬ in-law, Dewey Adkins of Camarillo, CA; and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by a sister, Arlene, and his infant twin brother, Elmer.
Services were held on Thursday, August 7, 1997, at the Faith Lutheran Church, Onawa, IA, with Rev. Steven Hetzel officiating. The pianist was Mrs. Jack Jordan, the soloist, Mr. Steven Johnson, was accompanied by Mrs. Steven Johnson and sang the selection, "I Know Who Holds Tomorrow". Burial was in the Onawa City Cemetery.
Casket bearers were Kurt Neldeberg, Dan Neldeberg, Gary Breitbarth, Ed Bohlmann, Jim Stengel, and Jerry Miller.
Memorial have been established with the Onawa Kiwanis Museum Complex Landscape Project, the Kiwanis Scholarship Fund and the Faith Lutheran Church.
Monona Obituaries maintained by Linda Ziemann.
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