Catherine Arvada Bestul, 99, a resident of Iola, died Sunday, October 15, 2017.
She was born April 2, 1918, in the Town of New Hope, Portage County, the daughter of the late Arthur and Clara (White) Swenson. The family moved to Wisconsin Rapids, and then to Stevens Point, where she was educated in the public schools. She married Howard Bestul in 1942 in Chicago. He died in 1984. Most of her life was spent in Scandinavia, where she lived in the family home for 64 years before moving to Iola Living Assistance in 2010. For many years she worked as a secretary in law offices in Iola, first for D. O. Omholt and then for Bruce Meagher before retiring in 1999 at the age of 81. She was active in church, schools, and community, in activities ranging from Girl Scouting, to meals on wheels, to Sunday School teaching. She served as Health Officer for the Village of Scandinavia during the difficult time of the polio epidemics of the 1950s. She had a lifelong interest in athletics as an enthusiastic participant in many sports including tennis, swimming, cross-country skiing, and bowling. But in the second half of her life, her passion was golf. She was one of the founders of the Iola Women’s Golf League in the 1970s, and pursued the game at a high level until the age of 90, collecting many medals and trophies along the way.
She is survived by her sons, Thomas, of Palm Springs, California, and Michael (Susan), of Cleveland, Ohio, and a daughter, Taran Radloff, of Brown Deer; a sister-in-law, Kay Sells, New Berlin; five grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, two brothers and two sisters, and her son-in-law, Lon Radloff.
The Funeral will be held at the Voie Funeral Home in Iola on Thursday, October 19, 2017 at 1:00 P.M. The Reverend David Eisele will officiate. Visitation will be held on Thursday from 12 Noon – 1:00 P. M. at the funeral home. Interment will be in the Scandinavia Lutheran Cemetery in Scandinavia, Wisconsin.