Harriet Lucille (Smith) LUNDT

LUNDT, SMITH, SOMMERS, BOEHLJE, FREVERT, POWELL, DAVIS, SLETTON, LEER

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 12/8/2013 at 11:54:55

August 26, 1920 --- May 26, 2013

Rockwell — Harriet L. Lundt, 92, formerly of Rockwell, Iowa, died Sunday, May 26, 2013, at the Sheffield Care Center. Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, June 1, at Fullerton Funeral Home, 120 S. 3rd St. Rockwell. Visitation will be from 4 until 7 p.m. Friday, May 31, at the Fullerton Funeral Home in Mason City. Officiating will be the Rev. Brad Thornton of the First Congregational Church, Clear Lake. Interment will be in the Rockwell Cemetery. Those planning an expression of sympathy may wish to consider memorials to the Harriet Lundt Memorial Fund.

Harriet Lucille was born on August 26, 1920, at Galt, Iowa, the daughter of Edward and Carrie Smith, who were both from Illinois. She was one of seven children born to Edward and Carrie. She matriculated and graduated from Rockwell High School. Harriet was also a longtime member of the congregation of First Congregational Church in Rockwell. Following high school she remained with her family to assist her parents during the Great Depression. During this time she met Cato Lundt Jr. of neighboring Swaledale, Iowa. Their relationship blossomed and on November 17, 1940, she and Cato were united in marriage. After a short honeymoon, they began a life together working the Lundt family farm in southern Cerro Gordo county.

Their family grew rapidly with birth of their first child (Rick) in 1941, eventually followed by five more children. Through their hard work and devoted partnership, the couple and their expanding family later moved to a farm of their own in nearby Floyd County. As farm operations continued expanding along with their family, they moved to larger farms in nearby Dougherty and, eventually, Rockwell. Through all the travails and difficult work of a rural farming operation, Harriet was a lifelong partner to Cato — a committed farm wife and devoted mother to her six children.

Outside the home, Harriet remained very involved in her home church, Rockwell's First Congregational Church, often serving with the ladies of the church and as their secretary. She also became a church deacon as well as serving on the church counsel. As her six children joined the family and grew, she devoted her boundless passion and commitment to their needs. In serving the local farm community's youth, she also became a 4-H leader. Harriet was notable for her industrious spirit. One seldom saw her without an embroidery project, a sewing pattern or a ball of wool nearby. In particular she was a talented seamstress, and notably made numerous quilts. She was also a voracious reader, keeping favorite books close at hand even at the age of 90. Harriet was also a wonderful cook for her family.

As their family matured and eventually left the nest, she and Cato came to spend more and more of their vacations in Hawaii, where they enjoyed time together during the cold winter months back in Iowa. Never one for "idle hands," even in Hawaii Harriet often kept busy with craftwork, frequently making and selling items in the local markets and donating the proceeds to local charities. Harriet and Cato made sure that each of the children had the opportunity to attend college, something to which she'd aspired but an aspiration she had been unable to fulfill in the depths of the Great Depression. She was proud that, due to her efforts, college has been an option for her children and grandchildren. Harriet believed very much in leaving the world a better place than she'd found it; higher education was one of her passions in this regard.

Above all, Harriet leaves of legacy of life well-lived. She overcame tremendous adversity and economic disadvantage to raise a family and grow a business in farming. Her mind was always active, her hands fully-engaged and her devotion ever visible. She will be in the hearts and minds of her family forever. Those left to honor her memory are her children Leanne and her husband, Guy Sommers, Hills, Iowa; Kent and his wife Connie Lundt, Coal Valley, Ill.; Rick and his wife Jean Lundt, Independence, Kan.; Dr. Rita and her husband Michael Boehlje, Austin, Texas; and Holmes and his wife Dr. Leslie Lundt, Wailea, Hawaii; and a daughter-in-law Pam Lundt, Alcester, S.D. Harriet is also survived by her 18 grandchildren, Eric, Jason, Ryan, Jay Thomas, Jon, Kellie, Matt, Dan, Richard, David, Christina, Jennifer, Pierce, Blaine Lundt, Wendy and Jeff Frevert, and Elizabeth and Ben Sommers, and 15 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, Cato, on February 6, 2008; one son, Leland "Jay"; two great-grandchildren, Grace Lundt and Lila Lundt; as well as her parents, four sisters, Alice Powell, Lola Davis, Wilma Sletton and Virginia Leer; and two brothers, Wallace and Norman Smith. Fullerton Funeral Home and Cremation Services, Rockwell, Iowa.

Mason City Globe Gazette -- Mason City, Iowa
May 30, 2013