Harriet J. Kurtzleben

Harriet J. Kurtzleben passed away quietly at the Titonka Care Center at the age of 89, on Sunday, May 17, 2020 of natural causes.

A graveside service will be held 10:30 A.M., Wednesday, May 20, 2020 at Bingham Township Cemetery south of Woden with Rev. S. Kim Peterson of St. John’s Lutheran Church officiating. The family requests that current COVID-19 guidelines be observed if you attend. The service will be livestreamed on the Facebook page of Cataldo Funeral Home and available for viewing after the service on the funeral home website tribute wall.

There will be no visitation. Cataldo Funeral Home in Woden is in charge of arrangements.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the Titonka Care Center, Kindred Hospice – Spirit Lake or the charity of your choice.

Harriet June Kurtzleben, the daughter of Alrek and Amy (Faulkner) Boeckholt, was born December 22, 1930 on a farm near German Township, Kossuth County, Iowa. She graduated from Titonka High School in 1948 and from St. Joseph’s Mercy School of Nursing in Sioux City, Iowa in 1951. Harriet met her future husband, Calvin, where they both attended the young people’s group at Ramsey Reformed Church near Titonka. They fell in love and were married after she graduated from nursing school, at the same church on October 16, 1951. Calvin was in the Army at the time, so their first home was in Missouri near Fort Leonard Wood. She took her first job as a Registered Nurse in a hospital in Missouri near their home. When Calvin was discharged from the US Army, they moved back to Iowa to take over the Kurtzleben farm near Woden. Together, they began their life in farming. Harriet worked at the Buffalo Center Hospital until the birth of their first child. She raised seven children and helped Calvin with the farm operations until his death in 1999. Harriet remained on the homestead and continued the farming operations with her son, John. She returned to nursing in 1968 and went to work as a Registered Nurse working primarily the swing shift for 25 years at Hancock County Memorial Hospital in Britt. Balancing all of these duties, she also found time to work as a school nurse at the Woden-Crystal Lake School System. She retired from nursing in 1994. After retirement she and husband Calvin, were able to travel and spend precious time together. Harriet remained active in her community and her church, St. John’s Lutheran in Woden. She enjoyed reading, gardening, watching the Minnesota Twins and Iowa Hawkeye Basketball. She cherished time with her grandchildren and was so proud of having many great grandchildren.

Harriet is survived by her children; Lynnora (John) Jetter of Bozeman, MT, Rita (Michael) Compton of Jefferson, IA, Ruth (Bradley) Buns of Woden, John (Emogene) Kurtzleben of Titonka, Paul (Donna) Kurtzleben of Orange City, IA, Bryon (Cheryl) Kurtzleben of Forest City and James (fiancée the late Bani Kinnison) of Lisbon, IA; her sister, Nancy (Richard) McGuire of Cannon Falls, MN; and two sisters-in-law, Rachel Boeckholt of Algona and Joanne Hobbs of Hampton. In addition, she leaves behind 14 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Calvin; and two brothers, David and Antony Boeckholt.