Geneva Haberer Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Geneva Maria was born on August 26, 1914, in Ladysmith, Wisconsin, to Carl Bernard and Christine Amelia (Bucholz) Gonnering. After graduation from high school, Geneva attended the Lutheran School of Nursing in Fort Wayne, Indiana, becoming a registered nurse. Her professional life spanned forty years, as a nurse in obstetrics and pediatrics at Allen Memorial Hospital, in Waterloo, Iowa. Her last ten years at Allen were spent as director of nursing services. On October 23rd, 1937, she was united in marriage to Ferdinand Michel "Fred" Haberer in Reinbeck, Iowa. Together they had four children: two daughters, Caryl Jean (John) Kemmerle of Sacramento, California, Mary Kathryn Cunningham of Arlington Heights, Illinois; two sons, Fredric Michael (Maria) Haberer of Olds, Iowa, Mark Thomas (Rhonda) Haberer of Waterloo; and seven grandchildren, Michael Becerra, Bethany Haberer, Aaron Haberer, Michelle Haberer, Sara Haberer, Bettina Golwitzer, and Kathryn Carroll. She was preceded in death by her husband on February 20th, 1969, and one younger sister, Lorraine Gonnering Colvin. Geneva resided in Waterloo before moving to Glen Meadows apartments in Cedar Falls, and then the Cedar Falls Lutheran Home, in Cedar Falls, Iowa, where she passed away quietly on March 8th, 2005. A member of the Immanuel Lutheran Church in Waterloo, Geneva lived a Christian life of service, always putting others first. Disabled by a stroke in January 2005, she apologized for creating extra work for the nursing home staff. An independent lady, always ready with a sharp mind, a wry comment, a perceptive eye, and a fascination with language, she will be missed by the family and dear friends she so treasured, her 'special people.'