Annabel Clift Smith Greseth, wife of Philip Greseth of Dawson, died Tuesday, May 15, 2012, at the Johnson Memorial Health Services in Dawson. She was 91.
Memorial service was Saturday, May 19, 2012, at 2:00 PM, at the Lac Qui Parle Lutheran Church in Dawson with Pastor Charles Beronius officiating; scripture lessons were Micah 6:8, Psalm 23, Romans 8:31-39 and John 14:1-6; tributes from her children were given; organist, Karen Donner accompanied the congregation in singing “Guide Me Ever, Great Redeemer” and “Lift High The Cross”; during the recessional, “Finlandia” by Sibelius was played. Burial for family only was at 11:00 AM, Friday, May 25, 2012, at the Willow Township Cemetery in Holly Springs, IA.
Annabel was born at the Clift family farm in Willow Township, Woodbury County, Iowa, on October 11, 1920. She was the seventh and youngest child of Charles and Emily Lockwood Clift. She was a graduate of Holly Springs High School. She married Ardell Milton Smith in 1939. To this union five children were born. She married Philip Greseth of Dawson in 1979.
Mrs. Greseth was a licensed Hospital and Nursing Home Administrator, having earned the Credential of Advanced Study in Hospital and Health Care Administration from the University of Minnesota. She served as administrator to the Drayton, ND Community Hospital, the Dawson Hospital, and the Johnson Memorial Hospital and Nursing Home in Dawson. After her retirement from JMH, she worked as Ombudsman for Older Minnesotans for five years, under the auspices of the Minnesota Board of Aging. She was the author of more than 150 published articles and co-author of a book called “From Nursing Assistant to Registered Nurse”, published by McMillan in 1990.
She was active in the Dawson Community and Lac Qui Parle County, having served on the County Welfare Board, the Dawson Library Board, the Johnson Foundation Board and the Dawson/Boyd Arts Association Board. She had also served on State and Regional Boards for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Division of the Minnesota Department of Health. She was an active member of Lac Qui Parle Lutheran Church of rural Dawson.
She is survived by her husband, Philip G. Greseth of Dawson; and four children: Nancy A. (Jerry) Babiarz of Austin, TX, William C. (Judy) Smith of Dallas, TX, Barbara E. (David) Gross of Congress, AZ, and Judith Irene Smith of Sioux City, IA; a son-in-law, Dennis Simmons of Sioux City, IA; 8 grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her daughter, Bonnie L. Simmons; her parents; two brothers, four sisters, one step-sister; two sisters-in-law, and four brothers-in-law.
Blessed be her memory