Gladys Elaine Luebke

Gladys Luebke, 72, of Fort Dodge, Iowa passed away Tuesday, August 13, 2013 at the Paula J. Baber Hospice Home in Fort Dodge. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, August 19, 2013 at the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Fort Dodge with Rev. Lyle Hansen officiating. Burial will be in the Trinity Lutheran Cemetery, Knierim, Iowa. Visitation will be from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. on Sunday at Gunderson Funeral Home and Cremation Services in Fort Dodge. Gladys Elaine (Besel) Luebke, daughter of August and Bertha (Kunkel) Besel, was born in Mountain Lake, Minnesota on August 15, 1940. She attended Mountain Lake Public Schools and graduated in 1958. After graduation, Gladys attended Lutheran School of Nursing (St. Luke's College) in Sioux City, IA, and graduated in 1961 with a registered nursing degree. On November 29, 1969, Gladys was united in marriage to Erwin Edgar Luebke at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mountain Lake, MN, where she had also been baptized and confirmed. After their marriage, Erwin and Gladys made their home in Fort Dodge, where they both worked and helped Erwin's father with the family farm near Knierim, Iowa. They were long-time members of Tr...[more]

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ty Lutheran Church at Knierim. Erwin and Gladys were parents of two children: Linda Kay Luebke and Paul August Luebke, Erwin passed away on February 9, 1995 at 58 years of age. In 2005, Gladys joined Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Fort Dodge. Gladys was proud to be a registered nurse for 50 years, retiring at the age of 71. She was first employed in pediatrics at the Kersten Clinic in Fort Dodge with Drs. Dannenbring and McNeil for 12 years. After taking some time off to raise her children she went to work for Expo Health Care Center in Fort Dodge for 10 years. Finally, she worked for Drs. Piercy and Goldin at Urology Associates in Fort Dodge for 20 years. Gladys had a great love of animals, and she enjoyed gardening, crocheting, travel, and time spent with her family and friends. Gladys is survived by her children Dr. Linda Luebke of Fort Dodge, IA and Paul Luebke of Portland, OR; a sister Dorothy Boman of Brooklyn Center, MN; a brother Walter (Vida) Besel of Palm Desert, CA; a sister-in-law Sylvia (Larry) Sorenson of Eau Claire, WI; a brother-in-law Dr. Robert (Marilyn) Luebke of Iowa City, IA; and several aunts, cousins, nieces, nephews, and great-nieces and nephews. Gladys was preceded in death by her husband Erwin, parents August and Bertha Besel, in-laws Edgar and Luella Luebke, and several aunts and uncles. Memorials may be left to the family for their further discretion.