Donna G. Tullberg

Gwendonna G. Tullberg, 82, of Wakefield, Nebraska died on Sunday, August 8, 2010 at Mercy Medical Center in Sioux City, Iowa. The funeral for Donna will be held on Wednesday, August 11, 2010 at 10:30 A.M. at Salem Lutheran Church in Wakefield; Pastor Bill Koeber will be officiating. The visitation will be held on Tuesday from 3:00 until 8:00 P.M. with the family present from 6:00 until 8:00 P.M. at the Bressler ~ Munderloh Funeral Home. There will be a prayer service at 7:00 P.M. Burial will follow lunch at the Silver Ridge Cemetery near Martinsburg, Nebraska. Gwendonna Gail Tullberg was born August 13, 1927, to Dale and Elsie (Miille) Murfin at Newcastle. She was confirmed at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Newcastle. She graduated form Newcastle High School in 1946 and attended Wayne State Teachers College. She taught at various country schools in Dixon County. Gwendonna was always a teacher at heart. She married Myron Tullberg on December 26, 1951, at Schuyler, Nebraska. When Mike was in the Army, the couple lived in Texas and Kansas. After Mike was discharged, they farmed in the Martinsburg area before moving to Wakefield. Donna and Mike had five children. In 1967, they purchased the Grover Carr farm east of Wakefield, where the family lived and managed a dairy and hog operation until 1981. After she and Myron divorced, Donna moved to town and became a cook at the Wakefield Health Care Center. She retired at the age of 72. Preceding her in death were her parents, her brother, Eldon, and her granddaughter, Brenna Herbster. Donna is survived by her children: Linda and Monty Granfield of Randolph, Nebraska; Diane and Mike Row of Bruning, Nebraska; Dennis and Melia Tullberg of Wakefield, Nebraska; Connie and David Herbster of Sabetha, Kansas; and Gary and Michelle Tullberg of Lenox, Iowa. Donna’s grandchildren include Lindsey and Zachary Row-Heyveld of Iowa City, Iowa; David Row of Kansas City; and Danny Row of Bruning, Nebraska; Alissa and Vahn Thomsen, Spencer Tullberg and Shaylyn Tullberg, all of Wakefield; Kevan Herbster and Lauren Herbster of Sabetha, Kansas: and Regan Tullberg and Dawson Tullberg of Lenox, Iowa. Donna also enjoyed three great-grandchildren: Chayse, Karissa, and Deanna. Other survivors include her brother, Larry and Nita Murfin of Wakefield; her sisters-in-law Delores Lehman of Wakefield and Mila Tullberg of Elk Point, South Dakota; and a brother-in-law Paul Tullberg of Schuyler, Nebraska. She is also survived by one aunt, Aletha Nelson of Newcastle, and her much-loved cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends." Gwendonna’s life was not an easy one. She had to work hard and sacrifice a great deal. She endured many hard times, and yet she considered herself a lucky person. She learned great life lessons from her trials and came out on the other side a changed woman. After her near-death illness six years ago, she felt she had been given a second chance. Her relationship with the Lord became more personal and real to her. She loved life! Donna wrapped life around her family and was proud of every one of them, from youngest to oldest. She reveled in their accomplishments. She became an encourager to everyone she met. She showed unconditional love, and she was quick to forgive and ask for forgiveness. Donna brought smiles to a lot of the people who came into contact with her. Her bold and straight-forward manner in combination with her flair for words made a conversation with her an adventure. She will be missed for her wit and her seldom-asked-for, sometimes-embarrassing, but always wise advice. But most of all, she will be missed for the way she loved people.