Verda Louise Thurm
December 27, 1910 — June 29, 2005
Verda L. Thurm, 94, of Manchester, formerly of Cedar Rapids, died Wednesday, June 29, 2005 at the Good Neighbor Home in Manchester following a lengthy illness.
Memorial services will be at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, July 19, 2005 at Bohnenkamp-Murdoch Funeral Home & Cremation Service in Manchester by Rev. Msgr. Ralph Simington. Friends may call from 4:00 until 7:00 p.m. Monday and one hour before services Monday at the funeral home. Inurnment will be in Pine View Cemetery, Delaware.
Verda was born on December 27, 1910 in Delaware, Iowa, the daughter of Swedish immigrants, Nils Peter and Elfreda Ragnhild (Ortberg) Anderson. Verda attended school in Delaware and graduated in 1928 from Manchester High School. She worked as a legal secretary for E.M. and Hubert Carr, attorneys at law, in Manchester. She was united in marriage to Wayne E. Thurm in 1940 and was a homemaker while the couple traveled around Iowa during Wayne?s professional career as a teacher and a principal. In 1956, the couple moved to a farm near Epworth where Verda continued her career as a secretary for Conservative Mortgage Co., and an insurance company in Dubuque. Verda retired in the early 1970?s and resided in Dubuque before moving to Cedar Rapids in 1982 to be near her daughter, Catherine.
Verda volunteered at the Witwer Senior Center in Cedar Rapids until well into her 90?s. She enjoyed line dancing with the Steppers, a group she performed with for several years. Verda liked crocheting quilts, knitting, playing cards, working crossword puzzles and meeting with many friends at Panera, her favorite coffee spot.
Verda is survived by six children, Richard (Judy) Thurm of Epworth, Robert (Jeanette) Thurm of Topeka, KS, James (Cathy) Thurm of Shafter, CA, Catherine (Richard) Hejda of Cedar Rapids, Daniel (Georgia) Thurm of Aptos, CA and Don Jon (Paisley) Thurm of Vancouver Island, B.C., Canada; a special friend, Arnie Glaser of Cedar Rapids; a special daughter figure, Suzanne Valle of Olathe, KS; eleven grandchildren; and nineteen great-grandchildren.
Verda is preceded in death by her parents, Nils & Elfreda Anderson; husband, Wayne E. Thurm in 1990; an infant great-grandson, Nathan Thurm; two sisters, Wilma Billhorn and Esther Shaw; and a brother, Clyde Grapes.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Delaware Co. Hospice of Comfort or the Good Neighbor Home in Manchester, or the Witwer Senior Citizen Center in Cedar Rapids.
Please sign our online guestbook for Verda at www.murdochfuneralhome.com under obituaries.
Memorial services will be at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, July 19, 2005 at Bohnenkamp-Murdoch Funeral Home & Cremation Service in Manchester by Rev. Msgr. Ralph Simington. Friends may call from 4:00 until 7:00 p.m. Monday and one hour before services Monday at the funeral home. Inurnment will be in Pine View Cemetery, Delaware.
Verda was born on December 27, 1910 in Delaware, Iowa, the daughter of Swedish immigrants, Nils Peter and Elfreda Ragnhild (Ortberg) Anderson. Verda attended school in Delaware and graduated in 1928 from Manchester High School. She worked as a legal secretary for E.M. and Hubert Carr, attorneys at law, in Manchester. She was united in marriage to Wayne E. Thurm in 1940 and was a homemaker while the couple traveled around Iowa during Wayne?s professional career as a teacher and a principal. In 1956, the couple moved to a farm near Epworth where Verda continued her career as a secretary for Conservative Mortgage Co., and an insurance company in Dubuque. Verda retired in the early 1970?s and resided in Dubuque before moving to Cedar Rapids in 1982 to be near her daughter, Catherine.
Verda volunteered at the Witwer Senior Center in Cedar Rapids until well into her 90?s. She enjoyed line dancing with the Steppers, a group she performed with for several years. Verda liked crocheting quilts, knitting, playing cards, working crossword puzzles and meeting with many friends at Panera, her favorite coffee spot.
Verda is survived by six children, Richard (Judy) Thurm of Epworth, Robert (Jeanette) Thurm of Topeka, KS, James (Cathy) Thurm of Shafter, CA, Catherine (Richard) Hejda of Cedar Rapids, Daniel (Georgia) Thurm of Aptos, CA and Don Jon (Paisley) Thurm of Vancouver Island, B.C., Canada; a special friend, Arnie Glaser of Cedar Rapids; a special daughter figure, Suzanne Valle of Olathe, KS; eleven grandchildren; and nineteen great-grandchildren.
Verda is preceded in death by her parents, Nils & Elfreda Anderson; husband, Wayne E. Thurm in 1990; an infant great-grandson, Nathan Thurm; two sisters, Wilma Billhorn and Esther Shaw; and a brother, Clyde Grapes.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Delaware Co. Hospice of Comfort or the Good Neighbor Home in Manchester, or the Witwer Senior Citizen Center in Cedar Rapids.
Please sign our online guestbook for Verda at www.murdochfuneralhome.com under obituaries.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Verda Louise Thurm, please visit our flower store.