Lucille Frieda Totten
Born: July 14th, 1916
Died: February 27th, 2012
Obituary
Lucille Frieda Totten, 95, of Burlington, died at GRMC Klein Center on Monday evening, February 27, 2012.She was born July 14, 1916 in Burlington, Iowa, she was the daughter of Ernest A. and Bertha F. Schmidt Nelson. She married Harold W. Totten on November 11, 1951 in Burlington, Iowa after meeting him in the Burlington Depot. He died on January 28, 1977. Lucille graduated from Burlington High School in 1934. She then attended the Art Institute in Chicago for one year. She excelled in business art. She returned to Burlington and became a clerk for Northwestern Bell for 15 years. She then worked as Chief Clerk to General Superintendent Grisinger of the BNSF Railroad. Her position was vital to Mr. Grisinger and she would even ride in his private rail car to prepare for meetings in Chicago. With her husband's job as a Superintendent for the CB &Q Railroad, they moved a number of times. She returned to the Burlington area to reside a few years after Harold's death in 1977. She was a member of Eastern Star, Kings Daughters, Historical Society, Friends of the Library and a 50 year member of PEO. She loved needlepoint, enjoyed cross word puzzles, traveling and presented book reviews for various groups. She was a member of Bethany Lutheran Church, a church that her great-grandfather, Charles Legler, helped to organize. She taught first grade Sunday School there for many years. She loved to volunteer for the church and help children prepare plays and presentations. She is survived by one sister-in-law, Lois M. Schultz Nelson of Algonia, WI; cousins, Gary Logan of Stronghurst, IL, Lois Bruer of West Burlington, IA, Alice Snyder of Burlington, IA, George Durfee of Arizona and several other cousins. She was preceded in death by her husband, parents, one brother, Edward Nelson, and one sister, Gladys Kamp. Memorial services for Lucille Frieda Totten will be held on Tuesday, May 22, 2012 at 11:00 am. Pastor Rick Biedermann will officiate. A luncheon will be served immediately following the service. The procession to Aspen Grove Cemetery for interment of ashes will leave at 1:30 pm. The family will receive friends at the church one hour prior to the service. A memorial has been established for Bethany Lutheran Church.