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Romaine Joy Marquardt, 91, of Alta, formerly of Storm Lake and Oak Creek, Wis., died April 14, 2024, at Heartland Care Center in Marcus.
Funeral services will take place Saturday, April 20, at 10:30 a.m. at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Alta. Burial will be Friday, April 26, at Arlington Park Cemetery in Greenfield, Wis. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to St. Paul Lutheran Church at 405 Division St., Alta, IA 51002; Zion Lutheran Church at 725 555th St., Storm Lake, IA 50588; Heartland Care Center at 604 E. Fenton St., Marcus, IA 51035; or Our Fathers Evangelical Lutheran Church and School at 6025 S. Honey Creek Dr., Greenfield, WI 53221. Fratzke Jensen Funeral Home of Alta is in charge of the arrangements.
Romaine Joy was born Nov. 5, 1932, to Walter and Elfriede (Gold) Schall. She was baptized in 1932 and confirmed in her faith in 1946 at St. John Lutheran Church in South Euclid, Ohio. Romaine attended grade school at St. John Lutheran School in South Euclid, Ohio. She graduated from Huntington High in Huntington, Ind., in 1950. Romaine attended Concordia Teachers College in River Forest, Ill., graduating in 1956.
Before moving to Iowa, Romaine was a member of Our Fathers Evangelical Lutheran Church for 57 years. She taught Sunday School, was a member of the LWML and Wednesday morning bible class. Romaine taught at Our Fathers Lutheran School for 33 years (one of which she was also interim principal). At the time of her death, Romaine was a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Alta.
On June 29, 1957, Romaine was united in marriage to James William Marquardt at Zion Lutheran Church in Milwaukee. They were blessed with two children, Jennifer Lynn and James William, Jr.
Left to cherish the memory of Romaine include her children: Jennifer (Keith) Reetz of Alta; James Jr. (Lisa) Marquardt of Greendale, Wis.; sister Kathryn Schlicht of Brookfield, Wis.; grandchildren: Kirk (Heidi) Reetz of Alta; Victor (Sherri) Reetz of Hull; Tyler (Kayla) Reetz of Storm Lake; Rachel Marquardt of Louisville, Ky.; Hannah Marquardt of Indianapolis, Ind.; James Marquardt III of Oak Creek, Wis.; great-grandchildren: Savanna and Chance Reetz of Alta; Gavin and Liam Reetz of Hull; special friends: Diana Borck of Oak Creek, Wis.; Sharon Wadsley of Marcus; and extended family.
She was preceded in death by her husband James Marquardt; parents, Walter and Elfriede Schall; and sister Carol Beck.
The family would like to thank Pastor Harrison for his pastoral care of Romaine and the staff of Heartland Care Center for the exceptional care Romaine received during the past eight months.
