Lillian B. Leum

Lillian B. Leum, 89, of Westby died Sunday, May 13, 2012 Lillian B. Leum, 89, of Westby died Sunday, May 13, 2012 at her residence in Westby. She was born on North Ridge, La Crosse County to Emil and Hilda (Rundahl) Berg on June 19, 1922. The youngest of three daughters. They lived here until 1925 when her dad died of pneumonia when they were asked to live with her mothers brother, Alton Rundahl who lived alone. She attended North Ridge Rural School for eight years, two years of High School in Coon Valley and graduated from Westby High School in 1940 then two years at University of Wisconsin in La Crosse to get her teaching license, and completed a Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary Education for her teaching degree and many more credits beyond that. She taught ten years in Rural Schools, four years in State Graded School in Coon Valley, and twenty six years, in mostly second grade, in Ontario School, for a total of 40 years, which she greatly enjoyed. She also worked two years as a bookkeeper for Nuzum Lumber Company in Viroqua. As a young girl she joined the North Ridge 4-H club and was La Crosse County Dairy Queen in 1941 and won a trip to the State Fair on her sewing Project. Mother and the girls continued living and helping out on the farm until a farming accident forced their uncle to quit farming. He bought a house in Coon Valley where they lived. On May 6, 1952 she was married to Otis Leum in the Coon Valley Lutheran Church and became the wife of a dairy farmer on the Leum farm near Westby on Lovaas Ridge until 1997 when they had a house built in Westby and retired from farming. Music was a big part of her life. Her mother taught her to play the piano at an early age and she also played the guitar and later the accordion. She sang in church choirs for over 40 years and Norskedalen Singers and Players and Sons of Norway Solvang Singers and Players, and played piano for the Three Norskies for over 20 years. She was an active member of Our Saviors Church in Westby as a member of the church choir, WELCA, Rebecca Circle, church historian, worked on the church kitchen committee, quilter, taught Sunday School and Vacation Bible School and has been an officers in many of them. Other committees include Solvang Sons of Norway for over 30 years, Vernon County Retired Educators, Norwalk-Ontario Retired Teachers, and Delta Kappa Gamma Chapter Alpha Zeta and was an officer in most of them. Her Norwegian Heritage was important to her as Sons of Norway. Her first language learned was Norwegian so has translated some church records from Norwegian to English and has over 2,000 hours of volunteer work at the Norskedalen Nature and Heritage Center, and has done much work on the Family Trees. She and Otis made several trips to Scandinavia as well as other places. They both have authentic Norwegian Bunads. She has been in charge of the Norwegian Baking Demonstrations for Westbys 17th of May Festival. She has taught Norwegian baking at Norskedalen to hundreds of school children and guide of travelers from Norway, and was a nine year member of the Norskedalen Board of Directors. Other activities: member of Westby Senior Citizens and had done some writing, helped her aunt with a book about our ancestors. Wrote many articles for the Vernon County History Book on the Township of Christiana and Westby. Other hobbies were knitting, crocheting, embroidery, sewing, acting in skits, flowers and gardening, Norwegian baking, traveling, reading, photo albums, and scrapbooks. She was preceded in death by her parents; her sister, Helen and brother-in-law, Jerry Klum and sister, Esther and brother-in-law, Ralph Leum; her husband of 56 years, Otis Leum; She is survived by her nephews: Richard and Nancy Leum, John and Sandy Leum; niece, Helen and David Romeriz; great niece, Medeia Romeriz; and many special nieces and nephews, and sisters and brothers-in-law. Funeral services will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 17, 2012 at Our Saviors Lutheran Church in Westby. Pastor Steve Minnema will officiate with burial in Our Saviors Cemetery. Relatives and friends may call on Wednesday from 4:00-6:00 p.m. at Vosseteig Funeral Home, 708 S. Main Street (Hwy 14 S.) in Westby and at the church on Thursday from noon until time of service. The Vosseteig Funeral Home of Westby is serving the family.