Gertrude B. Altenhofen

Gertrude B. Altenhofen
September 09, 1904 - October 28, 2005
Sigourney, Iowa
Visitation: 4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. October 30, 2005 at Reynolds-Powell Funeral Chapel
Funeral Service: 10:00 a.m. October 31, 2005 at St. Mary Catholic Church
Interment: October 31, 2005 at St. Elizabeth Cemetery
SIGOURNEY-Gertrude Altenhofen, age 101, died Friday, October 28, 2005, at the Manor House Care Center in Sigourney, following a brief illness. Gertrude Barbara Altenhofen was born September 9, 1904, near Sigourney, Iowa, to John and Anna (Haupert) Laux. During her youth she lived with her parents on farms near Sigourney and Ottumwa. She attended Newkirk country school and graduated from Sigourney High School in 1923. On January 14, 1926, she married Edmund N. Altenhofen at St. Mary Catholic Church in Ottumwa. They lived on farms near Harper until 1943 when they moved to a farm north of Sigourney. In 1948 they moved to a farm near What Cheer, and retired from there to Sigourney in 1971. She was the eldest member of St. Mary Catholic Church in Sigourney. Survivors include three sons: Clair of Taylors, South Carolina, William and wife Roseanne of Marion and Jerome and wife Patricia of Wichita, Kansas; two daughters: Patricia of Sigourney and Maribeth Peyton of Marion; son-in-law: Donald Peterson of Cedar Rapids; 13 grandchildren; 23 great grandchildren; 3 great great grandchildren; 4 step grandchildren; 16 step great grandchildren and one step great great grandchild. Gertrude was preceded in death by her grandparents: Joseph and Magdalen (Kline) Laux and John and Maria (Stein) Haupert; parents; husband, Edmund in 1989; son, Dean in 1947, daughter, Dolores Peterson on September 22, 2005 and brother, Howard Laux. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, October 31, 2005, at St. Mary Catholic Church in Sigourney, with Rev. Philip Ryan officiating. Burial will be at St. Elizabeth Cemetery in Harper. Visitation will be from 4:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 30, 2005, at the Reynolds-Powell Funeral Chapel in Sigourney, where there will be a rosary at 7:00 p.m. A memorial fund has been established for the Manor House Care Center Activity Fund or St. Mary Catholic Church. Reynolds-Powell Funeral Chapel and Cremation Service in Sigourney is handling the arrangements.