June Darlene (Gonnerman) Mohr (1925-1995)

GONNERMAN, LORENSEN, MOHR

Posted By: jane austin (email)
Date: 11/22/2016 at 04:10:45

June Darlene Mohr

Services in memory of June Darlene Mohr were held Wednesday, December 27, 1995, at 1 p.m. at the American Lutheran Church in Melvin. Pastor Philip Jorgensen officiated. Casket bearers were Neil Gonnerman, Donna Gonnerman, Dennis Gonnerman, LeRoy Gonnerman, Tyler Mohr, Garland Groen, David Kuehl and Scott Heetland. Honorary casket bearers were 70 years of special friends. Interment was in Pleasant View Cemetery in Hartley. Warner-Baumgarten Funeral Home was in charge of the arrangements.

June Darlene Gonnerman Mohr was born on September 4, 1925, the daughter of Freeman and Freda Lorensen Gonnerman in Hartley, Iowa. She was baptized and confirmed in the Hartley Methodist Church, and was educated in the Hartley school system, subsequently graduating in 1942. Following high school commencement, she received postgraduate training and began her teaching career in the rural school system of Hartley. As a school teacher in a one room rural schoolhouse, her duties ranged from the custodial work of firing the furnace and sweeping the floor to crafting the curriculum for students in all of the first eight grades.

She remained in Hartley as a teacher until her marriage to Kenneth V. Mohr on October 20, 1946. She and her new husband then moved to a farm in the Melvin area.

June resumed teaching when she joined the Excelsior faculty as an elementary instructor in 1959. She was initially assigned a combination class comprised of both second and third grade students. Shortly thereafter this class was divided, and she was given the option of teaching second or third grade, whereupon she chose second grade. She particularly loved this stage of educational development oi students and taught at this level for 30 of her 37 years in the Harris-Lake Park school system.

June believed firmly in the process and wonders of the educational system. This is reflected by the diligent pursuit of her own educational advancement. Having received her teaching degree at the Teacher's College in Cedar Fails, she later traveled to Orange City for night and summer college classes. She continued this matriculation at Buena Vista, ultimately earning her Bachelor's degree from Buena Vista College. Even following this advancement, she continued taking courses and had earned multiple credits towards a Master's degree. June felt thai the foundations laid by [her] and her professional peers in the elementary school process forever impacted on each individual student's approach to learning for the rest of their lives. She also felt that she received as much as she gave. This is no better illustrated than in this quote upon her retirement when she said her young students. "Keep me up on things in the world. They are always teaching me." Spanning this 37 years she gave, in some families, two generations of educational foundation, having sometimes taught both parents and children of the same families. She believed the greatest gift a teacher could give was to instill a quest and a thirst for knowledge. She wanted her students to be seekers and pursuers of knowledge who would then be prepared to go far beyond the reach of any single instructor.

A major part of this preparation was the promotion of creative writing in her classroom, culminating in several students under her tutelage having works accepted for publication. She was very proud of all of her students and their accomplishments and maintained contact with many throughout their careers. As recently as one month ago, she received a letter from a former student now in high school. This student, as part of National Education Week, had selected her as the one favorite teacher to write, thanking June for her role in the stu­dent's development.

Kenneth and June farmed in the Melvin and Harris areas and the last 32 years in the Hartley area. June was an active member of the Lutheran Church in Melvin, where she taught Sunday and Bible School. Following her retirement from full-time teaching in 1990, June and Kenneth enjoyed their winters in Scottsdale, Arizona, and even then she did volunteer substitute teaching.

She remained devoted to Kenneth in his later years, providing special care to him prior to his death in February, 1995. Shortly thereafter, she began a courageous health battle of her own which ultimately claimed her on December 20, 1995.

She endeared herself to many throughout her lifetime of giving and during this struggle through the love she engendered in all situations. This love was blended with a unique appreciation of the good in everyone, young and old. a strong sense of humor, and the promotion of joy and dignity in all things. God, family and friends were foremost in her life.

She is survived by two loving sons: Greg and wife, Jean of Spirit Lake, and Jerry and wife, Pamela of Scottsdale, Arizona; one brother, Duane Gonnerman of Sioux Rapids; her mother, Freda Gonnerman; as well as nieces, nephews, relatives and friends. She was preceded in death by her father and husband.

Hartley (Iowa) Sentinel, Jan 4, 1996, p5