Leona Hilberg

Leona Hilberg, age 84, of Decorah, Iowa, died on Saturday, April 11, 2009, at the Winneshiek Medical Center in Decorah, Iowa, following a short illness. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, April 17, 2009, at the Decorah Lutheran Church, Decorah, Iowa, with Rev. Tom Pietz, Rev. Bryan Robertson and Rev. Allen Vik presiding. Burial will be in the Lutheran Cemetery, Decorah, Iowa. Friends may call from 4:00-7:00 p.m. on Thursday at the Schluter – Balik Funeral Home in Decorah, and after 10:00 a.m. at the church on Friday morning. Ida Leona Hilberg was born on May 11, 1924, the daughter of Guttorm and Palma (Qualley) Guttormson on a farm west of Decorah, Iowa. Leona graduated from Decorah High School in 1942 and taught country school for one year and attended nursing school in Minneapolis. Leona married Sidney Hilberg on October 10, 1946, at the Decorah Lutheran Church. Leona was a homemaker and lived in various cities in Iowa, while her husband Sidney worked for the Milwaukee Railroad. After Leona and Sidney retired they traveled in their RV for three years, before settling in Decorah. Leona was a member of the Decorah Lutheran Church. Leona enjoyed getting together with her old High School classmates at their monthly lunches. Leona was a very kind and loving mother, grandmother and sister and will be missed by her family. Leona is survived by one son: Steve Hilberg & wife Lori, Temecula, CA. Six grandchildren: Michelle (Terry) Swearingen, Wiersdale, FL; Lindsay Hilberg and Ryan Hilberg of Crystal Lake, IL; Erica (Micah) Durham, Temecula, CA; Katrina (Louis) Yang, Katy, TX and Daniel Hilberg, Oklahoma City, OK. One great grandson: Ethan Swearingen. Two sisters: Grace Spilde, Decorah, IA; Alice Larson, Cedar Rapids, IA and several nieces and nephews. Three sisters-in-law: Olga Otteson, Decorah, IA and Charlotte Wheatman, Peoria, AZ; and Norma Hilberg, Decorah, IA. Leona was preceded in death by her parents: Guttorm and Palma Guttormson. Her husband: Sidney Hilberg on March 4, 2005. One son: Sidney Lee Hilberg in 1986. One grandson. One brother: Robert Guttormson and one sister: Helen Kuntz.