Viola S. Skalla

Viola Suzanne Skalla was born on June 22, 1924 to Frank and Crescentia (Schultz) Zangerle in Defiance, Iowa. She was confirmed at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Panama and attended St. Mary’s Catholic School in Panama.
She began her bartending career as a teenager at the Brown Derby. She was united in marriage on June 21, 1943 to Alfred Skalla at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Portsmouth. They had one daughter, Connie.
Viola continued her bartending career until her retirement in 1984 and helped her husband on their farm on the west edge of Portsmouth until he retired and they moved in to town. She continued living in their home after his death in 2000.
Viola always enjoyed watching baseball, especially her New York Yankees, and having a cold beer. Her family meant the world to her and she always had time for her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
She became a resident of the Avoca Nursing and Rehab Center in February of 2013 where she enjoyed visiting with the other residents. She died on Friday, October 9, 2015 at Myrtue Medical Center in Harlan, Iowa at the age of ninety-one years, three months, and seventeen days. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, and brothers and sisters: Ann, Bertha, Frances, William, Frank, Clarence, Edward, John, and Ralph.
Viola is survived by her daughter Connie and her husband Wayne Juhl of Portsmouth, Iowa; four grandchildren: Mike Juhl and his wife Ranae, Amy and her husband Hank Stork, Angie and her husband Todd Schreck, and Molly and her husband Joe Leaders; great-grandchildren: Caleb and Lucas Juhl, Collin and Carly Stork, Jacob and Ty Schreck, and Chazz and Tate Leaders; other family members and friends.