Edna L. Gustafson

Edna L. Gustafson, 89, of Wakefield, Nebraska died on Thursday, April 21, 2011 at Providence Medical Center in Wayne, Nebraska. Funeral services for Edna will be held on Saturday, April 23, 2011 at 2:00 P.M. at Salem Lutheran Church in Wakefield; Pastor Darwin Garton will be officiating. The visitation will be held on Friday from 3:00 until 9:00 P.M. at the Bressler ~ Munderloh Funeral Home in Wakefield. There will be a prayer service at 8:00 P.M. on Friday evening. Burial will be in the Wakefield Cemetery. Edna was born on her parents farm near Wakefield, Nebraska on January 4, 1922, the daughter of Peter and Hilma (Nelson) Oberg. She attended school in Wakefield and graduated in 1939. After graduation she worked for a short time at the Dixon County Offices in Ponca, Nebraska. She moved to Washington D.C. in November of 1942 and worked as a dental assistant and later in the Agricultural offices in Washington. She attended George Washington University. Edna married E. Berneal Gustafson on August 20, 1945 at Salem Lutheran Church in Wakefield. The couple made their home near Wakefield. To this union three children were born: Ronald, Jack and Joan. In 1959 she took in her nephews Dale and Dan Fischer after their parents died. As her children grew, Edna, began to work for Bossmans Clothing Store in Wakefield and later for the Educational Service Unit in Wakefield. Berneal died on October 27, 2001. Edna was very active. She was a charter member of Club 16, was active in XYZ, the Women of the ELCA, Sunday Morning Bible Study, and the Stephen’s Ministry. Edna loved her gardening and tending to her flowers, she wrote: “God is so generous with seeds; one cannot even comprehend all of the beauty and variety of his creation.” This is why she planted and cared for the flower garden at the corner of Salem Lutheran Church. She was also active in caring for others needs. She would often be seen driving someone to an appointment. Most of all Edna loved her family, and will be greatly missed by all. Edna is survived by her children: Ronald Gustafson of Horby, Sweden, Jack and wife Arlyn Gustafson of Grand Junction, Colorado, Joan and husband Kamal Ahuja of London, England, Dale Fischer and Daniel and his wife Cynde Fischer of Aurora, Colorado, eleven grandchildren: Emelie and Hillevi Gustafson, Jacob Berneal Gustafson, Jashan, Ketan, and Ashwin Ahuja, Joshua Harmston, Kelly and Gabriel Fischer, Kristi Truett and Luke Fischer. She is also survived by two great-grandchildren: Kyra Harmston and Shayla Truett, and two brothers Harold and wife Pat Oberg of Wakefield and Robert and wife Gloria Oberg of Allen, and her sister Esther Oberg of Wakefield. Edna was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Berneal, an infant brother Paul, brother Alvin and sisters Verna Fischer and Helen Muller.