To request a copy of this photo for your own personal use, please contact our state coordinator. If you are not a family member or the original photographer — please refrain from copying or distributing this photo to other websites.
Thank you for visiting the South Dakota Gravestone Photo Project. On this site you can upload gravestone photos, locate ancestors and perform genealogy research. If you have a relative buried in South Dakota, we encourage you to upload a digital image using our Submit a Photo page. Contributing to this genealogy archive helps family historians and genealogy researchers locate their relatives and complete their family tree.
Submitted: 8/18/23 • Approved: 8/18/23 • Last Updated: 8/21/23 • R275326-G275315-S3
Verla Popkes Mundhenke
Sep 20, 1932 - Aug 11, 2021
Verla was born September 20, 1932, in her grandparents’ house in Worthington, MN. Her parents were Raymond John Popkes and Lorena Kate Scherff. She had an older brother, Berdell Popkes.
Verla was born in the depression years. Her parents struggled financially, but they always had enough. She never really noticed they had so little because she came from such a loving home! Her mother came from a family of 13 children and her father had 8 siblings. She had a large extended family of aunts, uncles, and cousins. She loved having so much family! Holidays were always fun for her!
Verla spent her younger years in Sibley Iowa. They had no indoor plumbing, an outdoor toilet, no telephone, and no refrigerator. They had a pot-bellied stove in their dining room for heat. When Verla was 10 years old, the family moved to Detroit, MI, for her parents to work in a war factory during WWII. When first in Detroit, the four of them lived in a one-bedroom house with two aunts and an uncle. They eventually got into housing for “defense workers.” After the war was over, they packed up and headed back to the Midwest where they thrived. They lived in Worthington, MN through her high school years.
After high school graduation, Verla went to Mankato State Teachers College. She became an elementary school teacher. It was her calling! Later she earned her bachelor’s degree and master’s degree from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
Verla married Virgil Mundhenke June 8, 1956. They lived in Sioux Falls, SD. They had three children, Lori, Susan, and Kathy. They moved to Omaha, NE, for Virgil’s job in 1964. Verla taught elementary school (mostly 4th grade) in Omaha until she retired. Teaching was her passion! She was so good at it! Former students of hers would frequently tell us that our mother had a significant impact on them, and that they loved her for their teacher. She was an important educator and nurturer to so many kids. She LOVED teaching and being with children!
After their children had grown and were on their own, in 1991 Virgil and Verla moved to Hot Springs, AR, to fulfill their dream of living on a lake. Before their move, Verla applied for a teaching job with the Department of Defense to teach on military bases overseas. Just a few weeks after they moved to the lake, Verla got a call from the Department of Defense. They wanted her to teach 4th grade on a navy base in Japan. They put sheets over the furniture and headed out! She was so adventurous! She taught overseas for the department of defense in Yokoska- Japan, Panama City, Panama, Zama-Japan, and Naples-Italy. They traveled all over the regions and took in as much as they could! She LOVED experiencing military school life, other countries and cultures, meeting interesting people, and traveling the world!
Virgil and Verla settled back in Hot Springs on Lake Hamilton after completing her overseas teaching. They were members of First United Methodist Church and the Hot Springs Country Club. Verla was very active in local charities in Hot Springs.
Verla & Virgil were blessed with 3 granddaughters, Hannah, Lindsey & Erin. Verla was the MOST OUTSTANDING “Nanna”! She loved her granddaughters so much! She delighted being with them! She always had fun, crazy activities for them to do with her when they came to visit! She had boundless energy and love for them.
Verla's granddaughter was diagnosed with dyslexia when she was in 1st grade. To help her granddaughter learn to read, she began education courses at Neuhaus Education Center in Houston, TX which specializes in dyslexia. She became a certified dyslexic tutor. Once she saw the success of the program on her granddaughter, she volunteered at the Hot Springs elementary school to tutor children there with dyslexia. She then presented the dyslexic program to the local school board in hopes they would put it into more schools. The Board implemented the dyslexic program in all the schools in the district. Hot Springs school children are benefitting from the program today!
Virgil and Verla moved to Overland Park, Kansas in 2011 to be closer to Kathy and Lori. They celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary there. After Virgil passed away, Verla moved to Houston, TX, to be near Susan’s family.
Verla passed away August 11, 2021 and is with God our father in heaven.
Verla is survived by daughters Lori, Susan, and Kathy, son-in-law’s Tom Neville & Jeff Murray, and granddaughters Hannah, Lindsey & Erin.
Contributed on 8/18/23 by 9katz
Email This Contributor
Suggest a Correction
Record #: 275326