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Verla M. Reding of St. Peter, Minn., passed away Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, at the age of 100.
A celebration of Verla’s life will be Saturday, Nov. 21, at 2 p.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church in St. Peter, Minn. Verla’s final resting place will be in Sioux City. Arrangements are under the direction of Meyer Brothers Colonial Chapel. Online condolences may be directed to meyerbroschapels.com.
Verla was born Sept. 30, 1926, in Newell, to Vernon and Anna Haahr. She graduated from Newell Consolidated School in 1944 as Valedictorian. She then went on to attend the University of Iowa for two years and was a Charter Member of the Scholastic Honorary Sorority, Alpha Lambda Delta. During her high school and college years, she participated in numerous musical programs.
In 1944, Verla began her employment at the Farm Bureau Office in Storm Lake and later joined the First National Bank in Newell.
Verla married W.E. “Bill” Reding in 1946. They moved to Plover where they owned and operated a grocery and general store. With their young family, they made several moves in the grocery business — Storm Lake, Thompson and Cherokee, and then on to Vermillion, S.D. and Sioux City, where she lived until 2016.
Verla worked with Bill in the Wick Home building business and during the years between 1980 and 1986, she was a secretary at the Mass Mutual Insurance office in Sioux City. She then became, and thoroughly enjoyed, being a receptionist for Independent Brokerage Network for 12+ years. When Verla relocated and lived independently at the Realife Cooperative in St. Peter, she enjoyed eating out with friends, visiting the grandchildren and great-grandchildren in the Twin Cities and Nebraska, worshiping and participating in Bible Study at Trinity Lutheran Church, reading with her book club and playing card games within her community.
Verla is survived by her three children: Nancy (Phil) Steffes of St. Peter, Minn.; Steve (Shari Works) Reding of Bigfork, Mont.; and Janet (Rob) Bohling of Johnson, Neb.; grandchildren: Jim (Jil) Steffes, Debra (Jacob) Schoenbauer, Matthew (Alexandra) Steffes, Courtney (Sean) Murphy and Trenton (Ashton) Bohling; great-grandchildren: Jaida and Jalila Steffes; Philip Schoenbaugher; Molly, Frederick and Elliott Haigler-Steffes; McKenna, Kellen and Calihan Murphy; and Brooks, Karsyn and Kyler Bohling.
She was preceded in death by her husband (2007); parents; two brothers and their spouses, as well as an infant brother; brother-in-law and spouse; and a great-grandchild.
