Lois Louise (Betke) Walter, 78, of Mapleton was called to her eternal home by the Lord on Monday, Dec. 13, 2004, following a long and courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. Her family was at her bedside through her last days and at death. Services will be 10:30 a.m. Thursday at St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Mapleton. Burial will be in Mount Hope Cemetery. Visitation will be after 2 p.m. today, with a prayer service at 7:30 p.m., at Armstrong Funeral Home in Mapleton. Lois was born to Otto and Alma (Muhlbach) Betke on Dec. 28, 1925, at her home near Ravenna, Neb. She grew up on her family's farm during the Dust Bowl years. The hardships of those times on the land made a lasting impression on her and helped shape her sense of humility and resourcefulness. She graduated from Ravenna High School with honors. After graduation, she worked at the Ravenna bank and later enrolled at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in the college of business. At the university, she met her future husband, Irven Walter. She worked for a time at Bankers Life Insurance Company in Lincoln. While in Lincoln, she was baptized and confirmed into the Lutheran faith. She was married on her birthday to Irven H. Walter on Dec. 28, 1947. The couple moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where Irven enrolled in Cleveland College of Mortuary Science. While in Cleveland, she worked at Bankers Life Insurance Company. In 1948, the couple moved to Omaha, where her husband worked at a funeral home. She was employed at the Insurance Exchange in Omaha for a period of time. Her first son, John, was born in Omaha. In 1950, the Walters moved to Mapleton, where they purchased an interest in the Byers-Walter Funeral Home. After a time the business became Walter Funeral Homes in Mapleton, Ute, Danbury and Anthon, Iowa. She was secretary and treasurer for all the years in business. The Walters retired and sold the funeral homes in 1991 to Grant Armstrong. She was active in many church and community activities. As a member of St. Matthew Lutheran Church, she served on many committees, including LCW, and was instrumental in making many of the church banners. She was a member of Willow Vale Golf Club, Community Club, a bridge club and the Sioux City Art Center. She enjoyed snow skiing. She and her husband owned a home with Irven's twin brother, Iven and his wife, Jackie, in Breckenridge, Colo., for 20 years. She loved to travel, read, paint, sew and create various art projects. As a young mother in Omaha, she won a set of home appliances in a writing competition on the theme of what she liked best about her mother. Many of her paintings hang on the walls of family and friends. Most of all, she loved her children and grandchildren and taught them music as well as life's essential values and meaning. She gave to them in place of herself, and their love has grown from her examples over all of her years. She is survived by her husband, Irven; two daughters, Pamela Paulsrud of Wilmette, Ill., and Peg and her husband, Sheldon Jacobson of Mapleton; two sons and their wives, John and Sandy of Ankeny, Iowa, and Kirk and Wendy of Sonoma, Calif.; grandchildren, Jamie, Julie and Ryan Jacobson, Natalie and Nathan Walter, Cori and Lindsey Paulsrud and Iris Walter; four great-grandchildren, Breonia, Ashton, Jeffrey and Zoe; two brothers-in-law, Iven Walter and Norman Walter; and two sisters-in-law, Laverne Brion and Jerry Walter. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by a brother, Robert; and a son-in-law, Arthur Paulsrud.