Melba Gilbert
September 12, 1927 ~ April 2, 2009
Melba Adalaide Gilbert, age 81 of New Hampton, Iowa died Thursday, April 2, 2009, at her home.
Memorial Services will be held 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, April 7, 2009, at Trinity Lutheran Church with Rev. Joel Dahlen officiating. Music will be provided by Dennis Strum as organist and vocalist.
Family inurnment will take place at the New Hampton City Cemetery. Honorary pallbearers are her grandchildren, Rachel Ysbrand, Matt Ysbrand, Jennifer Meyer, Marissa Paulsen, Derek Tjepkes, Drew Paulsen, Alex Paulsen and Leah Tjepkes.
Friends may call 4:00 - 8:00 p.m. Monday, April 6, 2009, at the Hugeback & Chenoweth Funeral Home in New Hampton. Visitation continues an hour prior to the service at the church on Tuesday.
Melba Adalaide Gilbert was born September 12, 1927, in rural Howard County, IA, the daughter of Sjur and Andrena (Johnson) Attleson. She received her education in New Hampton graduating from the New Hampton High School in 1945. After graduation, Melba worked as a clerk for the FBI in Washington, D.C.
On September 20, 1948, at St. Joseph Catholic Church in New Hampton she married Charles Joseph Gilbert. To this union three daughters were born; Patricia, Kristin and Debra. Charles died in 1957 at the age of 33. She then moved to Waterloo and worked at the former Rath Packing Co. Melba had a long term relationship with Mike Reeves and to this union two daughters were born; Michelle and Julie. Returning to New Hampton, Melba began working for the former United Telephone Company as Chief Operator in 1961 and in 1979 transferred with the company to Fairfield, IA, where she lived and worked for 18 years. In 1996, Melba returned to New Hampton where she worked nearly five years in her semi-retirement for Dr. Dedic DDS.
In her free time Melba enjoyed reading, playing cards, bowling, going to the casinos, bingo and spoiling her grandchildren. She was an active volunteer at the Carnegie Cultural Center, Trinity Lutheran Church and the American Legion Auxiliary.
Survivors include five daughters, Patricia Gilbert, Kristin (John) Meyer, Debra Gilbert, all of New Hampton, Michelle (Tom) Paulsen of Carroll, IA and Julie (Steve) Tjepkes of Atlantic, IA; seven grandchildren; three brothers, Palmer Attleson of Denver, CO, James Attleson of Lindsborg, KS and Richard (Adriana) Attleson of Mason City, IA; one sister, Paulette Trewin (Jim Hulne) of New Hampton; a brother-in-law, Joe Goss of Lawler.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; her long-time friend, Mike Reeves; two sisters, Signora Goss and Karen Feind.
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Our thought and prayers are with your family at this difficult time, she is resting in peace now. God Bless
we are sorry to here about your mom
Kris, I was sorry to hear about your mom. I know the two of you were really close.Thinking of you and praying that Jesus will give you strength and ease your pain. I love you, Deb
dear friends-i was saddened to hear the news of melba’s passing. i spent a lot of my childhood at melba’s house, playing and waiting for something tasty from her oven. the gilbert and brown moms were friends, as were the kids. melba and her daughters took my mom under their wings after her fall and continued the never ending supply of goodies. they watched carefully over her when i couldn’t be there, and i thank them for that. she was a very special lady, and will be missed.
Patricia,Kristin(John)Meyer,Debbie,Michelle(Tom)Paulsen,Julie(Steve)Tjepkes,Grandchildren,All Relatives,&All who Touched Melba in anyway! Mother,Grandmother,All Love ones ect… Your Love One Melba is in heaven watching over all! God only takes the best to heaven so God came to take your Mother,Grandmother,&All Love ones ect…(Melba)is watching over all from heaven, and in each ones heart for ever. You all have are Deepist Sympathy to all. Are thought,& prays are with you all for every we are there for you all,& if anyone needs anything we are their for you all please let us help. God Bless You all,&God Watch Over You all! No one can take all your treasures,& memories each one of you all of Very wonderfull thoughts of Melba! We will have to get together with you all .Debbie we well have together Love Alice,&Tom Plus you all are family,& YOUR Mother was like an Mother to me. We all have many fun times togher no one can take them away fron us all!
Dear Kris & family, I will never forget playing over at the ‘Gilbert’s’ as a kid, where a smiling and exceptionally tolerant Melba presided over a big, happy and very lively household. There was always something delicious baking at Melba’s, and if we were lucky enough to be there at the right moment, we ‘neighbor kids’ always got to have a first taste of whatever goodies were coming fresh and hot out of the oven. Melba was a strong, graceful, hardworking, and independent woman–plus, she was the original successful single mother and ‘career woman’, way before it was fashionable! What a remarkable legacy Melba leaves to everyone else who knew her. She will be greatly missed. P.S. I hope they have a casinos in Heaven!
My thoughts and prayers are with all of you. I know your Mom was very special. Wishing you joy in knowing that she is now healthy, happy and HOME. Sherry (Anita, IA)
To Melba’s Family So sorry for the loss of your mom. I remember Melba in Dr. Dedic’s office as well as bowling in the same league with her. Your mom was a great lady. Please know your all in my thoughts and prayers. Ruth Rowe
Our thoughts and prayers are with you. May all the wonderful memories you have help you get through this difficult time. The Allen’s
My sincere sympathy goes out to each of you. Melba and I sang in choir together and she was always such a friendly, nice lady. She will truly be missed.
John, Kris, Rachel, Matt, Jenny, and Family, I am sorry about the loss of your mom and grandma. I have good memories of knowing Melba through our get-togethers over the years. It was evident the strong bond that your family had with her. Know that my thoughts and prayers are with all of you as you share memories and celebrate her life on earth and her new life in Heaven. God Bless!
I was so sad to hear of Melba’s death. I will always cherish the wonderful visits we had while I ‘pampered her toes’. She was a great lady. I wish for all of you girls to cherish the memories you have of your mom. That always helps you through the hard times. We all know that she is now resting peacefully. God Bless all of you and your families. LT
Karl and I wish to extend our deepest and heartfelt sympathies to the family members of Melba Gilbert. May the loving memories you and your family share be a great comfort to you during this difficult time. With love, Karl and Rachel
Our deepest sympathy to Julie, Steve,Derek and Leah
My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
Pat, Kris, Debbie, Mickey, Julie, Rachel and Jenny, It has been a pleasure to know your mom/grandma (mostly through birthday parties or other gatherings at Kris and John’s. Melba was a great person and an extremely strong woman. Her history speaks well of her. I know how it is to bury a mother as I had to do that 8 years ago. May your memories live on. God bless your family at this time of saying good-bye. Love, Tom, Rosie, Theresa, Sarah, and Annie Deutsch
I am so happy that I got to be ‘adopted’ by Melba and her wonderful daughters. Melba has been such a straight forward thinking woman. I will miss her dearly; but smile proudly when I think of her. Love from her 6th daughter, Penni
Pat, Kris, Debbie, Mickie, and Julie, you have our deepest sympathies in this difficult time. Just know that she is in a better place, more than likely playing cards with Mom, Sig, Grandma and others. She was always so happy and a joy to be around. I will cherish the memories that were made many years ago, as well as the most recent ones. She will definitely be missed. All the best, Kevin & Kim Attleson
Pat, Kris, Debbie, Micki, & Julie, To you and your families….our deepest sympathy goes to all of you. We know what it is to loose a mom. Just remember….When someone you love becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure. She will be missed by all who knew her. She is up with mom and Sig playing cards I’m sure. See you in a couple of days. All our love and thoughts… Kim, Kent, & Hollie
Julie – I am so sorry for your loss. Your mom was an incredibly lucky woman to have you as a daughter. You are in my thoughts and prayers. Lori
Pat, Kris, Debbie, Micki, Julie and families, May you have some peace knowing that Melba is in a better place, and feeling no pain. We will see you in a couple of days, in the meantime, know that our thoughts and prayers are with you all during this difficult time. Hugs, Karla & family
Prayers to all of your families. We are friends of Steve and Julie and family. God Bless.
We wanted to extend our heartfelt sympathy to you for your loss. Melba thoroughly enjoyed living life to its fullest and spending time with her family. She fought a brave battle over the past year and now may she rest in peace. May God grant you comfort and peace. Also, may God bless you with strength to carry you through this time of grief.
Julie, Please call me if I can do anything for you during this difficult time. I am so sorry. We are never ready for a sadness and a loss like this. May it help you so much to know how much your friends care about you. My love to you and to your family. Julie Gade
Our deepest sympathy goes out to all of you. Treasure all the great memories that you have of your Mom. The pain that you feel now will ease with time. Keep all of those memories close to your heart. May God help you through this difficult time. God bless all of you.
Patty, Kris, Debbie, Julie, Mickey and family; I am very sorry to hear about Melba. I love her immensely. She will be missed. She is no longer in any pain and resting peacefully. I still remember the day a long time ago when she thought she could catch me. Seems like yesterday. I will truly miss her a lot. All of you take care and cherish the time that we have all had with her. Melba, Please give Mom a huge hug for me.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you. We have great memories of spending time playing cards with Melba and the girls.
To Melba’s family, Please know that Melba was a wonderful person and a friend to many. My thoughts and prayers are with you all.Judy Speicher
Kris, Pat, Debbie, Julie, Mickey, and family: Please know that all of you have my most sincere sympathy and all of you are in my thoughts. I have so many great memories of times spent with Melba; she was an incredible woman and will be missed by all of those who knew her. Sincerely, Nolan