Alverda Sophia Brenden Riese

Alverda Sophia Brenden was born 24 August, 1920 on the family farm in the Town of Coon, Vernon County, Wisconsin. She was the fourth of seven children born to Adolph Simon and Mathea (Solberg) Brenden. She attended Von Ruden School and graduated from Westby High School in 1938.

Alverda remained on the home farm until 1941, caring for her father and brothers. She moved to Janesville, (Rock County) Wisconsin with her cousin and “forever friend”, Cleonore Holte Johns Maurer. Alverda met her husband, Boyd Albert Riese, at a dance at the Eagles Club in Janesville after he returned from service at the end of World War II. They were married 21 December, 1946 and moved to Milwaukee Wisconsin.

Alverda often talked about the time she spent with her brother, Virgil, while he was in dental school at Marquette. She enjoyed making meals for him and took care of his laundry. For Alverda, the years on West Wells Street in Milwaukee with her new husband and her youngest brother were a happy time. Boyd and Alverda’s only child, Leslie Ann, was born 28 July, 1948 in Milwaukee.

Alverda’s husband died 28 October, 1949, the result of  three years as a POW in Japan.  He was 28 years old. She returned to Janesville (Rock County) Wisconsin and began her long employment with the Parker Pen Company. She worked in data processing and prepared the monthly and year-end financial statements for George Parker, company president. It was exacting and fulfilling work for Alverda. At Parker Pen, she found a “second family” and cherished the people she worked with. She retired in 1985.

In retirement, Alverda enjoyed her flowers, her birds, tending to her immaculate yard, and cooking for family and friends. In all ways, she was a “caregiver.” Most of all, she cherished time spent with her her family, her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, her nieces and nephews, her neighbors, and her friends. She visited Westby often to be with her sisters and brothers, and was always ready to help them when they needed her. Virgil, Cousin Cleo, and “the three sisters” made several winter trips to Las Vegas. They were at every family baptism, confirmation, graduation, and wedding. When Virgil could no longer travel, they made trips to the casino in Black River Falls. Together, they laughed, cried, and supported each other without compromise.

Alverda’s life was filled with challenges; emotional, medical, physical, and financial. In the face of every adversity, she remained loving and positive. She was a strong woman with strong opinions. She was generous to a fault, quick to forgive, and always thankful for all that life had to offer. Her deep, quiet faith sustained her. At the end of her life, she said “I have been so blessed!”

On June 06, 2011, she passed away in her home with the picture of her beloved great-grandchildren beside her. They were the light of her life. She is buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Janesville (Rock County), Wisconsin, next to her husband, Boyd Albert Riese.