Roberta Wilken

Rock Rapids, Iowa Roberta Wilken, age 88 of Rock Rapids, Iowa died Sun. May 25th, 2008, at the Lyon Manor Nursing Home in Rock Rapids, IA. Memorial service will be 2:00 PM, Thurs. May 29th at Peace Lutheran Church in Rock Rapids, IA, with Rev. George Clausen officiating. Private family burial will take place prior to the service at Riverview Cemetery in Rock Rapids, IA. Visitation will be Wed. May 28th from 2 " 8 PM, with the family present from 6 " 8 PM at the Jurrens Funeral Home in Rock Rapids. Roberta Doris Bert Wilken was born to Warren and Ruth (Grim) Norris on January 21, 1920 in Rock Rapids, Iowa. She graduated from Rock Rapids High School in 1938. She attended nursing school for a short time before marrying her sweetheart Vernon Chief Wilken on September 17, 1939. The life she and Vernon shared on their farm just outside of Rock Rapids, with their two boys Daryl and Steve, was her greatest source of pride and joy. After her sons graduated from high school she returned to nursing school and received her degree as an LPN. She worked for several years at the Merrill Pioneer Hospital in Rock Rapids and then at Lyon Manor Nursing Home for approximately 15 years until her retirement. Bert greatly enjoyed her large and productive garden on the family farm, with her friend Charlene, tilling and planting beside her. Bert enjoyed many games of pinochle, cooking for her family and friends and fishing trips with Chief. Bert also had a great fondness for the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team and for a certain # 43 car! Bert was quick to smile, had a generous spirit and led a full life. She was an inspiration to so many, both at work and home. Fittingly and with much fondness she became known as Mother Bert by many of her sons friends. Bert Wilken died on May 25, 2008 at the Lyon Manor Nursing & Rehab Center in Rock Rapids, where she had been a resident for the past five years. Bert is survived by her son, Steve (Debbie) Wilken of Three Forks, MT; granddaughter, Michelle (Thomas) McGuane of Bozeman, MT; great-grandson, Thomas McGuane V. of Bozeman, MT; sister, Helen Schol of Rock Rapids, IA; brother, Howard Buck Norris of Pinehurst, NC; two sisters-in-law, Evelyn Halverson of Rock Rapids, IA and Mary Lou (John) Vellinga of Bozeman, MT; a brother-in-law, Bob Horsfall of Storm Lake, IA; and many nieces and nephews. Bert was preceded in death by her parents, Warren and Ruth Norris; her husband, Vernon Wilken; a son, Daryl Tank Wilken; and a brother, Byron Norris. Memorials may be directed towards Sanford Hospice of Lyon County, Peace Lutheran Church of Rock Rapids and Lyon Manor Nursing & Rehab Center of Rock Rapids.