Blekeberg, Wallace Raymond -- 1926 - 2006

BLEKEBERG, HALVORSON, HOYT, MOEN, MELAAS, BOSMANS, DE HAAN, SCHUTTE, SPALLA, PATTERSON, HERMAN, MORITZ, SMORSTAD

Posted By: Joy Moore (email)
Date: 6/20/2012 at 15:56:13

Wallace Blekeberg, age 80, of Decorah, Iowa, died on Thursday, November 30, 2006, at St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester, MN, following a lingering illness.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m., Monday, December 4, 2006 at the Madison Lutheran Church with Revs. Phil and Ginny Olson officiating. Burial will be in the Madison Cemetery, rural Decorah, Iowa.

Friends may call from 4:00 – 8:00 p.m. on Sunday at the Schluter – Balik Funeral Home, in Decorah, and after 10:00 a.m. at the church on Monday morning.

Wallace Raymond Blekeberg was born on March 14, 1926, the son of Amund and Olga (Halvorson) Blekeberg on the family farm near Ridgeway, Iowa. Wallace was baptized on April 11, 1926 and confirmed on May 26, 1941, the last member to be confirmed in Norwegian at the Madison Lutheran Church. Wallace attended country school near his home. He farmed his entire life in Madison Township, where he enjoyed farming and was a loving caretaker of all his animals. Wallace married Dorothy Marie Hoyt on June 11, 1955, in the Methodist Church in Oelwein, IA. After her death, he married Roberta Moen Melaas on November 5, 1989 at the Lutheran Parsonage in Ridgeway, Iowa. Wallace enjoyed his Norwegian heritage and jokes, reading about farming, dancing and listening to all kinds of music and especially his grandchildren. One of the highlights of his life included a trip to Norway, where he visited his ancestor’s farm in July of 2002. He also enjoyed listening to “Peace and Power”, when he was unable to attend Sunday services. Wallace was a life-long member of the Madison Lutheran Church.

Wallace’s survivors include his wife, Roberta Blekeberg, Decorah, IA. Two daughters: Donna (Paul) Bosmans, Brooklyn Center, MN and Susan (Doug) De Haan, Michigan City, IN. One son: Alan (Michele) Blekeberg, Decorah, IA. Three grandsons: Mark and Steven Bosmans and Lucas Blekeberg. One granddaughter: Leah Blekeberg. One step-daughter: Lori (Robert) Schutte, Mabel, MN. Two step-sons: Doug (Kirsten) Melaas, Belle Plaine, MN and Eric Melaas, Cresco, IA. Nine step-grandchildren: Lindsey, Levi and Lacey Spalla; Ryly Patterson; Sonja & Ingrid Melaas; Lydia, Becky and Mitchel Melaas. One brother: Orrin (Helen) Blekeberg, Ridgeway, IA. Two nephews: Vince (Barb) Herman and Clayton (Sherri) Herman. One niece: Vian (Gene) Moritz.

Wallace was preceded in death by his parents; his first wife, Dorothy on July 22, 1988; one daughter, Jane Blekeberg in 1978; two sisters: Hazel Herman in 1990 and Marcella (Orville) Smorstad in 1997.

Source: Schluter - Balik Funeral Home database

Madison Cemetery
 

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