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Mena
West
1910 -
2004
Mena H. West, 94, of Watertown, died
on
Funeral services were held at St.
Luke's Lutheran Church in Watertown with the Rev. Anthony Schultz and the Rev.
Mark Gartner officiating. Burial was in Oak Hill Cemetery.
The former Mena Berkvam was born
After graduating from Rio High
School, Mena attended Columbus County Normal and later received a bachelor's
degree and a master's degree in education from the University of
Wisconsin-Whitewater. Her teaching career began in a one-room school near Rio,
and she taught in Pipersville, Milford, Waterloo, Pewaukee and Oconomowoc. She
retired in 1976, finishing 30 years of teaching as a first grade teacher at
Park Lawn Elementary School in Oconomowoc.
Mena was a member of the Jefferson
County Retired Teachers Association and the oldest member of St. Luke's Church,
having joined more than 50 years ago. She was also a Sunday school teacher.
Mena and Percy shared many
interests, including gardening, fishing, travel, furniture restoration,
gambling, horseracing, and collecting antiques. After retirement, she learned
to crochet and paint. The family will always remember her special homemade buns
and chocolate cake for deer hunting season.
Being Norwegian, she loved going to
Norwegian dinners and having lutefisk and lefse. No Christmas was complete
without fattigmand.
Mena and her three sisters were all
married in 1935 and the four couples celebrated their 50th wedding
anniversaries in 1985.
Surviving were her husband of 69
years, Percy West of Watertown; a daughter, Marjorie (Don) Reichardt of
Watertown; two sons, Donald (Marlene) West of Watertown and Dick (Kay) West of
Delavan; six grandchildren, Todd (Chris) Reichardt, Sue (Kelly) Pochop, Lea
(Charles) Fischer, Andrew (Gerren) West, Aaron (Shana) West and James F. West;
seven great-grandchildren; a number of nieces and nephews, other relatives and
friends.
She was preceded in death by a son
and daughter-in-law, James Percy West and his wife, Chris; her parents; an
infant brother; and three sisters.