Wilma (Brand) GRIFHORST

GRIFHORST, BRAND, KOTHENBEUTEL, HARMS, KOPACEK, PEUTE

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 9/2/2010 at 11:31:49

October 7, 1919 -- August 29, 2010

BRITT, IA — Wilma Grifhorst, 90, of Britt passed away of cancer on Sunday (Aug. 29, 2010) at Westview Care Center in Britt. Funeral services for Wilma Grifhorst will be held 10:30 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 3, at the United Methodist Church, 707 Fourth St. S.W. in Britt, with Pastor Robert Dodge officiating. Burial will be at Evergreen Cemetery in Britt. Visitation will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 2, at Ewing Funeral Chapel, 178 Center St. W. in Britt, and will continue one hour prior to services at the church.

Wilma was born Oct. 7, 1919, in Kanawha to William and Sophia (Kothenbeutel) Brand and graduated from Kanawha High School. On Dec. 26, 1941, she was united in marriage to Richard M. Grifhorst. Wilma and Dick worked at Douglas Aircraft Corp. in Chicago during World War II. In 1946 they moved to Wesley and operated the Grifhorst Drug Store. In 1950 they built a new home in Britt, and shared ownership of the Lee and Grifhorst Drug Store in Britt. In 1973 it became Grifthorst Drug, which Dick and Wilma operated until 1991. Wilma was a member of the United Methodist Church in Britt. She enjoyed many trips with her family, in addition to reading, golfing and bridge.

Left to honor her memory are her children, Lois (Wendell) Harms of Ankeny, and Paul of Aurora, Ill.; her five precious grandchildren, B.J. Grifhorst of Tempe, Ariz., Kevin (Heather) and great-grandson, Carver, of Iowa City, David Grifhorst of Madison, Wis., Maj. Christopher Kopacek of Enid, Okla., and Kimberly (Steve) Peute of Tucson, Ariz.; a brother, Alvin, of Spring Hill, Fla.; sister, Erma of Gig Harbor, Wash., numerous nieces, nephews, other family members and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents, brother Melvin, her husband, Richard, in 2002; and her son, Jim, in 2008.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Britt United Methodist Church, Hospice of North Iowa or the Britt Family Aquatic Center. Ewing Funeral Chapel.

Mason City Globe Gazette, Iowa
September 1, 2010