Evelyn Berends

EVELYN BERENDS

Mount Vernon

Evelyn Ruth (Guetzko) Berends, 92, died Monday, Dec. 15, 2014, at Hallmark Care Center in Mount Vernon. Services: 11 a.m. Friday, Dec. 19, at St. Paul Lutheran Church, Mount Vernon. Visitation: 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 18, at Morgan Funeral Choices, Mount Vernon. Burial Lisbon Cemetery.

Evelyn was born Aug. 22, 1922, near Hopkinton, to Gus and Jennie (Kurth) Guetzko. She graduated from Delhi High School in 1939 and attended her 75th graduation reunion this summer. She married Lewis E. Berends on Oct. 24, 1946. They farmed near Edgewood, Strawberry Point and Manchester, before moving to Mount Vernon in 1956.

Evelyn worked at Collins Radio before her marriage and returned to Rockwell Collins when her children were in school. She was an active and founding member of St. Paul Lutheran Church until a stroke in 2009 limited her mobility. Evelyn was a loving wife and mother who lived her faith. She made friends with everyone and kept in contact through newsy letters.

Survivors include her children, Judith Workman of Cedar Rapids, Robert of Greeley, Colo., James (Joan) of Monticello and Susan of North Liberty; grandchildren, Kenneth and Margaret (Brandon) Bierhaus; and great-grandchildren, Robert, Mackenzie, Madison, Ryah and Ryne.

Also surviving are siblings, Don Guetzko of Delhi, Vida (Jerry) Engel of Marion and Betty McGee of Winter Haven, Fla.; and many nieces, nephews and their families.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Lewis; brother, Louis Guetzko; son-in-law, James Workman; and granddaughter, Bethany Gibson Berends.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be directed to St. Paul Lutheran Church, Mount Vernon.

Thank you to the staff at Hallmark Care Center in Mount Vernon for taking wonderful care of her for the past five and a half years.