Grace (Murra) Jurgens was born Dec. 10, 1924, on the family farm in Kossuth County, Iowa, to Dick and Mary (Winter) Murra. Grace was the fourth child and oldest girl in the family of 11 children. She attended country school through the 8th grade. In her teenage years she worked for her uncle, Jim Murra. At the age of 20, she went to work for Adolph Hartman to care for three of his children after the unexpected passing of his wife. The youngest of those three was Dean, to comfort the little boy she did much of her work carrying him on her hip or holding him in her lap. That time gave them a special connection and bond that brought a twinkle to her eye whenever she would recall their time together. On Dec. 10, 1946, she married William “Bill” Jurgens. After Bill offered to buy her a new set of furniture in lieu of a large church wedding, the couple “eloped” to Grand Junction, Kansas. There at the church of Bill’s brother-in-law, Jack Krugel, they were united in marriage. After a honeymoon through the Ozark’s, they returned to Bill’s family farm north of Buffalo Center, where they made their home with Bill’s parents. After several years his parents retired and moved to town.

Their farm home became a favorite place for nieces, nephews and children of friends to stay. From a visit of a couple hours to multiple days, their home was always open. In 1959, they were blessed with the first of their two children through adoption, Daniel. Nancy came to complete their family in early 1962. Grace helped Bill on the farm, never afraid to tackle any task from milking, field work, building repairs and painting to driving a truck load of cattle to market. She was also known for her hospitality and cooking abilities. Bill enjoyed visitors to the farm, whether it was a cattle buyer, repairman, salesman, or friend, always inviting them to the house for coffee or a meal where Grace would welcome them with a smile. She always had an ample supply of baked goods for lunch or more than enough food prepared for dinner to feed extras. Grace loved having her grandchildren around. Even with the many demands of the farm, Grace would always find time to play a game of tag or fox and goose. She delivered many loads of corn to the elevator with a grandchild snuggled into the corner of the tractor cab with snacks and toys to entertain them. Many schemes were cooked up with them so they could stay just a little while longer, which many times meant overnight. With her carpentry skills she built them an extra-large tree house that even had a zip-line before zip-lines were popular. She enjoyed watching them grow into adults and starting their own families. In January of 2007, Bill and Grace moved to Buffalo Center. In town she continued to enjoy having friends and neighbors in for coffee and to play Rummikub. Grace was a lifelong member of First Baptist Church. She accepted Christ as her Savior at the age of 13 and later followed the Lord in baptism. In the church she served as a deaconess, taught Sunday school and was a youth group leader. She was also a leader in the AWANA program for 30 years. Left to cherish her memory is son, Daniel of Fairmont, Minn.; daughter, Nancy (Doug) Klukow of Buffalo Center, Iowa; four grandchildren, Joseph Klukow of Buffalo Center, Gary (Rachel) Klukow of Ankeny, Iowa, Calista Jurgens of Fairmont, Carson (Brittany) Jurgens of Elmore, Minn.; nine great-granddaughters, Delayna, Kyla, MacKenzie, Ava, Olivia, Oaklyn, Brylee, Aria, Claire; sister, Arlene Thorland of Mason City, Iowa; many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. Grace was preceded in death by her husband, William “Bill” in 2011; parents, Dick and Mary; and siblings, William, John, Clarence, Arnold, Dick, Marian, Connie, Richard, Helen. Online condolences may be left at www.oakcrestfuneralservices.com

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