Alvera A. Schlueter

Mrs. Alvera A. Schlueter, age 95 of Clark, formerly of the Canistota community died in a Clark care center on Sunday, October 1, 2006. Funeral Services will be held on SATURDAY, October 7, 2006 at 10:30 AM in the Zion Lutheran Church at Canistota, SD with the Reverend Darren Olson officiating under the direction of the Kinzley Funeral Home at Salem. Burial will follow in the Canistota Cemetery. Music will be presented by Kathy Marquardt and organist and Ron Marquardt as soloist. Honorary Casketbearers will be the residents and staff of the Fay Wookey Memorial Assisted Living Center and the Beverly Healthcare Center at Clark. Active casketbearers will be John & Bryan Bergdale, Brian Jordahl and Paul Rierson. Visitation will be held on THURSDAY from 4-7 PM at the Furness Funeral Home in Clark. Visitation will also be 1 1/2 hours preceding services at the Church on Saturday. Alvera was born on July 28, 1911 at Timber Creek, Nebr., the daughter of Eilert and Ella (Janssen) Hellbusch. She attended the Lutheran Parochial School and Kramer High School in Columbus, Nebr. Following her graduation she became a bookkeeper and assistant manager for the F.W. Woolworth Department Store in Columbus. Later she was employed as a long distance operator for AT & T. On January 20, 1934 she was united in marriage to Victor Schlueter in Columbus. They moved to the Canistota, SD area and farmed until 1974. The couple retired and moved into Canistota. Mr. Schlueter died on August 16 of 1996. Alvera was an active member of Zion Lutheran Church where she held various offices in the Ladies Aid for many years. Some of her spare time was spent playing cards with friends and neighbors, doing crossword puzzles and reading. In 1934, Alvera won the first Ladies Corn Husking Crown by picking 124 perfectly clean ears of corn in just 10 minutes. Alvera was also very proud of the fact that she had kept a daily diary for over 70 years, settling many conversations by looking up what she had written in her book. In 1998 she moved to Clark and became a resident of the Fay Wookey Memorial Assisted Living Center where she had an apartment until March of 2006. She moved into the care center in April of this year. Grateful for having shared in her life are her children, Robert Schlueter and wife Barbara of Clark and a daughter, Janice VanVugt and husband Sid of Phoenix, AZ. She also leaves 6 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. Preceding her in death are her parents, husband, 4 brothers and 2 sisters. email condolences to www.furnessfuneralhome.com