Aida Caroline LARSON

Other Events and Attributes:

• Occupation: Teacher
• Vernon County Death Index: V34, P184 As Aida Allness
• Wisconsin Death Certificate: 019261

Notes:

Listed as Aida C. Larson in her high school yearbook. She was class treasurer. Her motto in her high school yearbook was, “Merit is worthier than fame but pleasure is always in the game.”



In the 1950 census, she and her husband and their four daughters lived in Viroqua with her mother and her cousin Clara Munson. Halvor was a farmer, Ada was an art teacher at the county normal school.

In Aida’s obit, it’s noted that she taught history at La Crosse State College for 18 years, resigning in the early spring of 1967 after becoming ill. The obit also notes that in the fall of 1965, Governor Warren Knowles appointed Aida to be a member of his commission on the status of women. She was also selected by the Vernon County Board as the first member of the county educational committee investigating the consolidation of the rural schools into the high school districts.

Also spelled Adah and Ada. Spelled Aida in the 1930 census. Signed what appears to be her high school graduation picture “Adah.”

Aida was active in the Vernon County Fair. From a history of the fair:

“The hundredth anniversary of the Vernon County Fair came in 1956.  With it came approximately 10,000 attendees.  ‘Women's group from 11 communities constructed replicas of homes and shops that had existed in Vernon County 100 years earlier.’ says a later Broadcaster-Censor article.  The "Centennial Street" was coordinated by chairman Mrs. Halvor Allness.”



Aida was a member of the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church of Viroqua, the first president of the Vernon County Historical Society, and a member of and delegate from the Viroqua Republican Club. She was appointed by Governor Warren Knowles to the Governor’s Commission on the Status of Women soon after the governor was inaugurated. Her obit said that she died at her home on the morning of Monday, June 5th, 1967.

Died:
Cora found out on June 6th

Buried:
Funeral service at 2 PM at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church 4NE4

Aida married Halvor Christopher ALLNESS on 23 Nov 1938 in Nashua, Chickasaw and Floyd Counties, Iowa. Halvor (son of Ole M ALLNESS and Anna Maria (Mary) BOLSTAD) was born on 30 Jun 1904 in Liberty Pole, Franklin Twp, Vernon County, Wisconsin; died on 26 Oct 1969 in Spring Coulee, Cashton, Monroe County, Wisconsin; was buried in Viroqua Cemetery, Viroqua, Vernon County, Wisconsin. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Or Annlouise or Ann-louise.

Ann married P.Q. FUQUA [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Occupation: Lecturer, School of Social Work, University of Wisconsin - Madison

Notes:

Deborah J. Allness?Deborah J. Allness died at her home in Middleton, Wisconsin on June 19, 2007. Throughout her life, Debbie was blessed with unending curiosity and the unique ability to connect with others in a deeply personal way. In her professional career, she worked tirelessly on behalf of people with mental illness and their families and helped countless individuals for whom hope often had been lost. In Wisconsin and across the United States, she was a major influence in the development of innovative community-based mental health services.??Debbie earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in psychiatric social work from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. In 1973, she joined the staff of the Program of Assertive Community Treatment (PACT), Mendota Mental Health Institute in Madison. This research-based program is dedicated to establishing protocols and standards for team-based services which enable people with serious mental illness to live satisfying lives in the community. Debbie worked for PACT from 1973 to 1986 in roles as a clinical social worker and associate director. She also served as co-director of the PACT Model Dissemination Project to Wisconsin Counties and as co-principal investigator of a major PACT research study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health. From 1986 to 1990 Debbie served as director of the Office of Mental Health, Wisconsin Department of Health and Social Services in Madison. She was responsible for promulgation of standards for Community Support Programs and successfully worked to secure federal Medicaid funding for these programs. Debbie worked with government agencies and organizations in many states and Canada, helping to establish PACT programs and evaluating client services. She was a speaker at numerous conferences and professional meetings. Collaborating with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Debbie coauthored, with Dr. William Knoedler, NAMI’s Manual for ACT Start-Up based on the PACT model.??From 1987 to 2004 Debbie was a lecturer in the area of serious mental illness at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Social Work. Her students found her to be demanding of the highest standards of care and dedicated to providing respectful services to support the recovery of people with mental illness. Although Debbie’s professional life was full, she was enormously generous with her time and great love for her family and close circle of friends, with her niece, nephews and their children holding a very special place in her life.??She is now at peace with her Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ, whom she was growing to know more intimately day by day.??Born November 2, 1948, Debbie grew up in Viroqua. Her parents were Halvor and Aida (Larsen) Allness. She is survived by her sisters, Ann Louise (Mrs. Paul Fuqua) and Judy (Mrs. James Rhodes), both of Arlington, Virginia, and Beth (Mrs. Richard Kilen) of Westby. She is also survived by nephew, Christopher Kilen, wife Tina and children, Truman, Tucker, Gunnar and Martha of Belleville, Wisconsin; nephew, Benjamin Kilen, wife Courtney and children, Savannah, Shakanah, Benaiah and Moriah of Kansas City, Missouri; and niece, Carolyn Fuqua, husband, John Stewart and son Maccabi of Arlington, Virginia.??Burial was at the Viroqua Cemetery on June 22, 2007. There will be a memorial service, to which all are invited, in Madison, Wisconsin, at the Pyle Center, 702 Langdon St. on July 21, at 2:30 p.m.??The Vosseteig-Larson Funeral Home of Viroqua is served the family. Online condolences may be offered at www.vosseteigfuneral homes.com.