Gloria Burkle

Gloria G. Burkle, age 70 of Nashua, Iowa, died Thursday May 9, 2013, at the Hospice of the Valley in Glendale, Arizona. Funeral services will be held 11:00 a.m. Saturday, May 18, 2013, at St. John Lutheran Church, Nashua, with Rev. Gary Hatcher presiding. Kevin Burkle, Todd Burkle, Alex Burkle, Andrew Burkle, Daniel Burkle, and Michael Burkle serving as pallbears. A private family interment will take place on a later date. Friends may greet the family 4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. Friday, May 17, 2013, at the Hugeback - Johnson Funeral Home in Nashua. Visitation continues an hour prior to the service at the church on Saturday. Gloria Gale Burkle was born June 5, 1942, in Iowa Falls, IA, the daughter of Clifford and Winola (Wagner) Prull. She received her education at the Geneva High School. Gloria married her high school sweetheart Stanley Burkle on September 5, 1958, at St. Peter’s United Church of Christ in Geneva. To this union four children were born. The couple moved to the Nashua area in 1962. She stayed at home for nine years to raise their children. Gloria also decided to pursue beauty school and started her career as a hair stylist. She continued in the profession for twenty-six years. Gloria and Stan retired in 1997 and started delivering large Winnebago motorhomes around the United States. They would average around twenty trips per year. Gloria always joked that she always wanted to be a semi-driver and this was her best option. Gloria and Stan traveled with Stan’s teaching friend Karl Laufer, and their daughter Alicia every summer for three weeks. The group attended over a dozen Iowa bowl games, including two trips to the Rose Bowl. Since 2001, the couple spent their winters in Desert Shadow Resort, in the Phoenix area. Gloria enjoyed playing organ at the church, trips to the casino, playing bingo, and the relationships and social atmosphere at the resort. She also loved to bowl and tend to her flowers. Playing cards was a love of hers, especially “500”. Her favorite places to travel were, Cancun and Hawaii. Left to cherish Gloria’s memory is her husband, Stanley Burkle of Nashua, IA; two sons, Kevin (Amy) Burkle of Crystal Lake, IL, Todd (Patty) Burkle of Monona, IA; one daughter, Kimbra (Kevin) Smyth of Urbandale, IA; seven grandchildren; one sister, Aleyna (Larry) Davisson of De Soto, IA; one sister-in-law, Janice Prull of San Jose, CA; one brother-in-law, Lyle Abbas of Clear Lake, IA. She was preceded in death by her parents; one daughter, Alicia Burkle (2008); one brother, Dale Prull; one sister, Sharon Abbas.