Elberta Adkins

Elberta H. Adkins, 88, of Gowrie, passed away Monday, November 6, 2017 at the Paula J. Baber Hospice Home in Fort Dodge.

Funeral services will be 1:30 p.m. Friday, November 10 at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Farnhamville with Pastor Robert Zellmer officiating. Burial will be in Gowrie Township Cemetery. Friends may call from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday, November 9 at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church.

Elberta Hertha Adkins, daughter of Albert and Agnes (Kirchhoff) Licht, was born April 16, 1929 in Deer Creek Township. She was baptized and confirmed at Trinity Lutheran Church in Deer Creek.  Elberta graduated Humboldt High School in 1946 and began taking classes at the University of Northern Iowa. When the classes she needed were unavailable, Elberta took a job as the bookkeeper at a hardware store in Fort Dodge, Iowa. She enjoyed going dancing with friends at the Laramar Ballroom where she met her lifetime dance partner, Willis Adkins. They were married at Trinity Lutheran Church in Deer Creek on June 8, 1949.

Willis and Elberta settled into their forever home in Gowrie, Iowa in 1956. They were blessed with three children: Dean, Mary and Elaine. In addition to being a devoted wife and mother, Elberta was the Gowrie Municipal Utilities bookkeeper for 35 years and City Clerk for 18 years. She was a founding member of the Gowrie Rescue Unit and volunteered as an EMT for 18 years. Elberta was an active member of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church (Farnhamville, Iowa) including their Ladies Aid organization and a member of the Women’s Auxiliary for VFW, Gowrie Women’s Club, Gowrie Quilters Club, a volunteer at the Gowrie Care Center and delivered Congregate Meals.  

Faith and family meant everything to Elberta and she cherished the time spent together. She said it was always important to her to actively participate in her children’s lives because that’s what makes a family - a family. Her quiet strength, abundance of grace and calling to care and give to others are a few of her many qualities that her family strives to imitate.

Those left to cherish her memory include her children: Dean (Marlys) Adkins of Clare, Mary (Mark) Hartwig of Elgin, Ill. and Elaine (Craig) Fillman of Paton; brother, Walter (Jeri) Licht of Badger; sister, Ruth Fredrickson of Fort Dodge; seven grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.

Elberta was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Willis; and siblings: Irene (Raymond) Dencklau, Edgar (Eileen) Licht and Marjorie (Harold) Vosberg; and brother-in-law, Duane Fredrickson.

Memorials may be left to Gowrie Rescue Unit, Gowrie Fire Department, Paula J. Baber Hospice Home or Holy Trinity Lutheran Church.

Palmer Funeral Home in Gowrie is in charge of arrangements.

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