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Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
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Wilma Lesta (Walker) Lusardi
WILMA LESTA (WALKER) LUSARDI
Cedar Rapids
Wilma Lesta (Walker) Lusardi, 96, died in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and went home to Heaven on April 12, 2022. Wilma was born Aug. 10, 1925, in her grandmother's parlor in Capay Rancho, Calif. She was the adored daughter of Harry (HI) Walker and Cora (Ball) Walker and also a descendant of both original Mayflower and Jamestown colonists. A daughter of pioneers, she was a kind and happy child who grew up in Vista, Calif. There she met her future husband and love-of-her-life, Peter Herschel Lusardi Jr. They were married during WWII in Chicago. Following the war, the couple made their home in California, eventually settling in West Covina where they raised two children and were active in the Methodist Church. They also enjoyed family vacations camping in national parks in their teardrop trailer. Wilma worked as director of Social Services at Arcadia Methodist Hospital. After retirement, the couple moved back to their hometown of Vista, traveled extensively in their motor home and also spent time with family and friends at their cabin in Big Bear Lake, California. Peter Herschel died in 2007 and in 2016 Wilma moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to live with her daughter, Linda Peterson.
Wilma loved tending her amazing orchard and helping people. She always had a kind word and a warm smile to offer others. She left behind a loving legacy and will be genuinely missed by all who knew her, including her children, Linda (John) Peterson and Stanley Lusardi; two grandsons, Matthew and Daniel Peterson; nieces, Donea Hedrick and Lisa Lusardi; and brother-in-law, Warner Lusardi.
She was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, her two brothers and their wives as well as two nieces. Wilma will be laid to rest next to her beloved husband of 62 years at Riverside National Cemetery, California.
We would like to extend our grateful acknowledgement for the loving care we received at UnityPoint-St. Luke's Hospice.
Online condolences may be expressed to the family at www.broshchapel.com.
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