Bernette Ann Njus, 79
Bernette Ann Njus, age 79 of Lawler died Friday, March 29, 2019, at her home in Lawler with family at her side.
Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 3, 2019, at Immanuel Lutheran Church-Crane Creek, rural Lawler, with interment at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Cemetery in Lawler with Dennis Njus, Deb Njus-Heckman, Dawn Njus, David Njus, Eric Njus, and Zach Njus serving as pallbearers. Honorary pallbearers will be Bernette’s grandchildren Coral Njus, Chris Thies, Allie Njus, Macie Njus, and Nick Njus.
Friends may greet the family from 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 2, 2019, at the Hugeback-Johnson Funeral Home in New Hampton. Visitation continues an hour prior to the service at the church on Wednesday.
Online condolences for Bernette’s family may be left at hugebackfuneralhome.com.
Bernette Ann Njus was born Nov. 29, 1939, in Tripoli, the youngest of three children. She attended Fremont No. 7 7 County School in Bremer County and graduated from Tripoli high school in 1958.
Bernette devoted her life to caring for people. She began working at St. Joseph’s Hospital in New Hampton in the early 1960s as a nurse’s aide, which is where she met the love of her life, Lyle.
The couple was married on April 28, 1962, at Grace Lutheran Church in Tripoli. To this union, four children — Dennis, Deb, Dawn, and David — were born.
After working at St. Joseph’s Hospital, Bernette went to work third shift at New Hampton Care Center. She really enjoyed helping take care of people. In 1979, Bernette helped establish the Chickasaw County Home Healthcare program, and she was named director in 1981 where she worked for 27 years until her retirement in 2006. Bernette found her joy in life by gathering her family together for meals, holiday celebrations, and simply just being there to visit in her home.
Bernette took pride in her flower beds, cooking and baking, Christmas light display, having trick or treaters at the house with a family chili feed to wrap up the evening, and packing picnic lunches to enjoy a family outing with fishing, shopping, or playing ball at a park.
Crane Creek Church was dear to Bernette’s heart and she loved going to sunrise services and making dinner rolls for church dinners, as long as her health allowed her to.
The grandchildren’s fondest memories include the Njus family trips to Adventure Land. Bernette loved attending her grandchildren’s events at school. She enjoyed providing taxi service to the grandchildren and their friends!
Bernette is survived by her husband, Lyle Njus of Lawler; an adopted son, Eric Njus (Samantha Finger), Lawler; two sons; Dennis (Connie) Njus of New Hampton, and David Njus (Lisa Myers) of Lawler; two daughters, Deb (Nick) Njus-Heckman of Lawler, and Dawn Njus (Greg Thies) of New Hampton; one brother, Charles (Connie) Hay of Denver; and seven grandchildren, Eric Njus (Samantha Finger), Zach (Nikki) Njus, Coral Njus, Chris Thies, Allie Njus, Macie Njus and Nick Njus.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Laverne and Lucille Hay; her sister Betty Maus, and multiple in-laws.
