Elfrieda Tobiason

Elfrieda Tobiason, 96, of Monticello, died peacefully Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, at her home. Services will be held Saturday, Oct. 21, at Wayne Zion Lutheran Church, in rural Monticello. The family will greet friends at the church from 9 to 11 a.m. A remembrance service will begin at 11 a.m. officiated by the Rev. Wade Reddy, followed by a luncheon at the church. Burial will be in Oakwood Cemetery. Please visit goettschonline.com to share your thoughts, memories and condolences with Elfrieda's family. Elfrieda Augusta Ortgies was born in Wayne Township, Jones County on Sept. 16, 1927, to Friedrich and Johanne Rastede Ortgies. She was baptized and confirmed at Wayne Zion Lutheran Church. She graduated from Monticello High School in 1945, and on Feb. 5, 1946, she married Milo Tobiason. Milo preceded her in death in 1986. She lovingly cared for her family and worked hard on the farm as Milo's partner. Elfrieda had a passion for gardening, both flowers and vegetables, as well as baking and cooking. She especially loved to share the produce from her garden and the homemade bread from her kitchen with neighbors and friends. She enjoyed bird watching. Elfrieda was a woman of deep abiding faith and served her church as a Sunday school superintendent for many years, helped organize and serve at church suppers, and enjoyed quilting for many years with the Sarah Circle. At one point, she counted the various quilts, lap robes and baby quilts she had made or helped make and it was well over 1000. She regularly attended Prayer Circle until her later years. Today, she is remembered by her children, Everett (Barb) of Anamosa, Charlotte Sunday, Tucson, Ariz., and Aaron, Clive, Iowa; grandchildren, Michael (Stephanie) Sunday, Jennifer (Fred) Hoffman and Charlotte Tobiason; and great-grandchildren, Fred, Cassidy, Michelle, Michael, Hailey and Dylan. In addition to her husband, she is now reunited with her parents; her sister, Gertrude (Dennis) from Everett, Wash.; a brother who passed in infancy; and her grandsons, Jeffrey Sunday and Scott Tobiason. In lieu of flowers and gifts, the family requests that memorials be directed to Wayne Zion Lutheran Church, which played such an important role in her life.