Funeral services were held for Luella Viola Pankratz, 89, on August 21, 2010, at the Assembly of God Church in Staples, with Pastors Roy Miles and Amos Self officiating. Luella passed away on August 17 at the Lakewood Health System Hospital in Staples.
Luella was born to Harm and Anna (Harms) Korfe on April 8, 1921, in Corona, South Dakota.
Luella Korfe and Leonard A. Pankratz were united in marriage on April 28, 1939, at the Gospel Tabernacle in Delton Township near Mountain Lake. She was a part of the Staples community for over 60 years and was a member of the Verndale Assembly of God Women's Ministries and Gideon's Auxiliary.
For 22 years, she worked as a certified nurse's assistant and as an activities aid for eight years at Lakewood Health System Care Center. She loved baking and delivering doughnuts and pies for family, friends and strangers. She will always be remembered as "the doughnut lady" with her generous spirit. She also loved music and the people she worked with, and had a gift for telling a good joke. Luella was a devoted mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.
Luella was preceded in death by her loving husband Leonard on April 6, 2005; parents; brothers, Raymond and Wesley Korfe; sisters, Margaret Junker, Theresa Riffle, Anna Russell and Sylvia Selvey; and son-in-law Ken McGrane.
She is survived by her sons, Roger (Lois) Pankratz of Lancaster, and Don (Donna) Pankratz of Bingham Lake; daughters, LuAnn McGrane of New Virginia, Iowa, and Rosalie (Larry) Fearing of Staples; 9 grandchildren and 31 great-grandchildren; brothers, John (Irene) Korfe of Windom, Alfred (Irene) Korfe of Staples and Clarence (Lois) Korfe of Bertha; sisters Jean Bolstad of Windom and Irene (Eldon) Cole of Zephyr Hills, Florida.
Honorary pallbearers were all of Luella's 31 great-grandchildren. Active pallbearers were Van, Jay, Ira and Darin Pankratz, Kevin McGrane and Wendell Mills.
Interment was in the Germania-Moran Cemetery in rural Bertha.