Luana Marie Bernau, age 95, of Preston, Minn., entered her heavenly home on the last day of summer, September 21, 2018, at Seasons Hospice House in Rochester, where she had been a resident since September 13.
Luana was born on the last day of winter, March 20, 1923, in Whittemore, Iowa, to William F. and Anna Drewes Dau. She was baptized April 15, 1923, confirmed on April 4, 1937, and married Ernest Bernau on April 24, 1946, all at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Whittemore, Iowa. She attended St. Paul’s Lutheran School through eighth grade and placed first in the Kossuth County eighth grade examinations. She could still recite poems she learned in school 90 years ago.
Ernest and Luana farmed at various locations in Kossuth County, Iowa, before purchasing their farm and moving near Fountain, Minn., in February 1958, where they made their home for over 50 years. Just before the death of her husband Ernest in July 2009, Luana moved to Traditions Assisted Living in Preston.
Luana always put the best construction on everything which allowed her to bloom wherever she was planted. She enjoyed her family, photography, scrapbooking, poetry, embroidery, reading, and gardening. She joined the Merry Meeters Birthday Club in November 1971 and the Ladies Aid in Wykoff, Minn., in 1979.
Luana’s treasures were her children: Paul (Beverly) of Fountain, Minn., Ralph (Patricia) of Preston, Minn., Iris of Groton, Conn., Wayne (Donna) of Courtland, Minn., Ann (Philip) Halverson of Oronoco, Minn., Lyle (Karen) of Westby, Wis., Marlin (Brenda) of Faribault, Minn., and Rosemary of Richfield, Minn. She was pleased to personally witness all 28 grandchildren confirm their Christian faith in the Lutheran church. Filling out the family tree are 27 great-grandchildren.
The last surviving member of her generation, Luana joins her parents, seven sisters: Edna Meyer, Ella Dau, Eldora Zumach, Linda Jergens, Alice Meyer, Vera Roeber, and Wilma Roeber; one brother, Victor Dau; and her husband Ernest, in heaven.
Funeral services will be held at St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wykoff, Minn., on Tuesday, September 25, 2018, at 11 a.m., with Pastor Michael Harman presiding. Burial will be in the church cemetery in Wykoff. Visitation is on Monday, September 24 from 5-8 p.m. in the church basement and at the church one hour prior to the services.
The family wishes to thank the staff of Traditions Assisted Living and Seasons Hospice for the love and compassionate care Luana has received over the past several years.
We thank God for Luana and praise Him for His promise of eternal life. “May God be with you till we meet again.”