Gloria Juhnke Dittman Van Ackeren

Gloria Juhnke Dittman Van Ackeren, 81, passed away Sunday, July 27, 2025 surrounded by family.

Gloria was born on July 8, 1944 in Parkston, SD to Arnold and Frieda Juhnke. The youngest of six children, she spent her early years on the family farm scaling fences and jumping off horses in South Dakota and in Tucson, Arizona. She graduated from Parkston High School in 1962, attended Augustana College, and graduated from the University of South Dakota with a BA in 1966 and an MA in 1992.

Gloria was a secondary teacher in Iowa and Nebraska from 1966 to 1978 and then began her 25-year career at Western Iowa Tech Community College as a teacher and administrator. She retired in 2003 and moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, where she continued to teach for Bellevue University and Southeast Community College, most recently in the ESL program. She was active in Friendship Force and in

Women's Welcome Club of Lincoln and was a member of First Lutheran Church.

In 1967 she married Arthur Dittman. They lived in Yankton, Omaha, and Sioux City, where he passed away in 1997. In 2005 she married Gene Van Ackeren in Lincoln, Nebraska, where he passed away in 2024.

Gloria was a steadfast and loving wife, sister, mother, grandmother, and friend. She loved a good laugh, a cheap beer, and to pretend to love dancing to the song "Gloria". She also loved to travel, which she did extensively later in her life. She had quick wit, a sharp mind, and an incredible ability to connect with anyone and everyone.

Gloria always put family first. She attended nearly every family event and always kept in touch with family, both immediate and extended. She especially cherished time with her grandchildren, who she helped raise in their early years. She deeply engaged with them, always making sure there was something fun to do during her many visits to Sioux City, Indianapolis, and Tucson. The time she spent with them has positively shaped their lives.

Gloria is survived by her three children: Jeremy (Shannon) of Sioux City, Jay (Susie) of Indianapolis, and Melissa (Kenneth) of Indianapolis; her beloved grandchildren: Cecelia and Ralph of Sioux City, Ellie, Mina, and Marley of Indianapolis; her sister Irene (Don) Reeb of Seward, NE, sister-in-law Darlene Juhnke, Parkston, SD, sister-in-law June Juhnke of Cape Coral, FL, and brother Arnold (Linda) of Springfield, SD,

and many special nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents, husbands Arthur and Gene, brothers Bruce and Bill and their wives, Nancy and Jeannene, brother Robert, a nephew Glenn, a niece Diann, and a great niece Gina.

Memorials may be directed to Lutheran Social Services of Lincoln, Nebraska for refugee resettlement or to a charity of your choosing.

A service will be held on Saturday, September 13, at 2:00 at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Sioux City, IA. A reception will follow at Bob Roe's Point After.