Barbara E. Tjaden

A funeral service for Barbara Tjaden will be held at 11:00 AM on Tuesday, October 28, 2025 at Good Hope Lutheran Church, in Titonka. Visitation will be held from 9:30 to 11:00 AM on Tuesday, October 28, 2025 at Good Hope Lutheran Church. Burial will follow the funeral service at Good Hope Lutheran Cemetery.
Barbara Ellen Overholser (Tjaden) was born June 2, 1930, in Diagonal, lowa to Stanley and Helen Fredricksen-Overholser. Barb passed away peacefully at the Kossuth Regional Hospital on Friday, October 24, 2025, at the age of 95.
Barb grew up on a farm North of Diagonal and attended country school at Jefferson Central School. She graduated from Diagonal Consolidated High School in 1948 and enjoyed playing on the Diagonal High Girls basketball team. Barb attended A.I.B. Business school in Des Moines, IA and was employed by the Valley Bank and Trust Company of Des Moines.
On November 24, 1951, she was united in marriage to her loving husband William (Bill) Tjaden of Titonka at St. John's Lutheran Church in Des Moines. She joined Good Hope Lutheran church in June 1952. They resided on a farm Northwest of Titonka and were blessed with two children, Randy and Terry Lynn. The couple did everything together from milking 21 cows where Barb had named each one. They also raised hogs, 2,000 laying chickens, along with many cats, dogs, etc. Barb loved the farm from her early childhood and through the years of happiness with her husband helping him.
Barb was an avid animal lover, as there was always a litter of kittens in the house, a couple of dogs, and Randy was always bringing baby rabbits into the house for her to care for them. Barb even let Terry Lynn bring her pony into the kitchen!
Barb was also very involved in the church and community. She was involved in snowmobile club and square dance club along with many of their friends. She taught Sunday School and Bible School. She served on church council, also took part in church circles. She was on the Board of Directors for the Titonka Care Center and helped with Kossuth County 4-H activities.
She was a very loving and dear wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. She and Bill love attending sporting events, band concerts, speech contests, piano recitals that the grandkids were involved in. Among her favorites, she absolutely loved baking a cherry pie for every homerun a player hit on the WCLT baseball team.
Barb became a resident of the Titonka Care Center in 2019 shortly after the loss of her husband.
She is survived by her son, Randy (Lisa) Tjaden of Titonka; son-in-law, Wing Ng of Kansas City, MO; grandchildren, Stephen (Kayla) Tjaden and their sons, Rush and Pres, of Sioux Rapids; David (Caitlin) Tjaden of Bosie, ID; Jacob Tjaden of Algona; Allyson (Benjamin) Fleming of Kansas City, MO; William Ng of Missoula, MT; sister, Bonnie Fletcher of Diagonal; brother-in-law, Allan Boyken of Titonka; along with many nieces and nephews.
Proceeding her in death was her loving husband, Bill Tjaden of 67 years; daughter, Terry Lynn Ng, sisters, Bessie Austin and Betty McCombs, brothers-in-law, Eddie Austin, Delbert McCombs, Ed Flether; sister-in-law, Joy Boyken, and her parents Stanley and Helen Overholser.