FOREST CITY — Anna Harringa, a devoted nurse who spent decades caring for Northern Iowa patients and their families, passed away Thursday, July 30, 2026, at her Forest City home while under hospice care. She was 95.
A service celebrating Anna’s life will be held at 11:00 AM Monday, August 3, 2026, at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Forest City, with Pastor Zech Anderson officiating. Visitation will begin at 9:30 AM and continue until the service at the church.
Burial will take place at Linden Lutheran Cemetery in rural Thompson.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to MercyOne Hospice of North Iowa. Donations may be mailed to MercyOne North Iowa Foundation, Attn: Hospice, 232 2nd Street SE, Mason City, Iowa 50401.
Anna Arlene Caroline Brandt was born November 9, 1930, to Henry J. and Kunna Sterrenberg Brandt. Raised in a family that placed tremendous value on education, Anna graduated from Woden High School and entered nursing training in 1947.
She graduated from the Iowa Lutheran School of Nursing in Des Moines in 1950 with her registered nursing degree. She married Robert W. Fisher of Livermore, and the couple settled on a farm south of Buffalo Center.
Anna helped with every aspect of farm life while also working in several roles at Buffalo Center Hospital. In 1957, she joined Forest City Community Hospital, initially working as a floor nurse and later as a charge nurse.
Her strength was tested in 1967 when Robert died suddenly, leaving Anna to raise five children younger than 18 while managing a heavily mortgaged farm and continuing her nursing career. Anna met those enormous responsibilities with determination and courage, holding her family together during an exceptionally difficult period.
She moved her family to Forest City in 1968 and accepted an administrator’s position at Forest City Community Hospital. She continued overseeing the family’s share-crop farming operations for the remainder of her life.
Anna married Raymond Petersen in 1969. Ray was an accomplished welder who owned Petersen Welding in Forest City.
During those years, Anna filled numerous positions at the hospital and served on the steering committee responsible for developing the new community hospital completed in 1975. Of all her hospital assignments, working as a surgical nurse remained her favorite.
Education remained one of Anna’s highest priorities, and she continually encouraged her children to study, work hard and aim high.
Ray died in 1991 after suffering a debilitating stroke two years earlier. Anna married Ben Harringa in 1993, bringing their two families together into one close and loving family.
Ben jokingly claimed Anna married him because his driveway had a south approach — a considerable advantage during an Iowa winter. Ben died from cancer in 1995.
Even in her 60s, Anna was not ready to leave nursing behind. At age 63, she began working for Hospice of North Iowa, offering comfort and guidance to patients approaching the end of their lives and to the families walking beside them.
Anna considered hospice nursing the most meaningful and rewarding work of her professional career. The gratitude expressed by the many families she helped offered powerful testimony to her compassion and dedication.
Although she eventually retired from hospice work when electronic charting arrived, Anna kept her nursing license active through 2021.
Her commitment to education and health care also continued through the Anna Harringa Nursing Scholarship, which helped Forest City students pursue their own nursing careers.
Anna is survived by her children, LeAnne Troxel of St. Cloud, Minnesota, Becky Fisher of St. Paul, Minnesota, Kathy Leuwerke of Thompson, David and Nancy Fisher of Rapid City, South Dakota, and Dan and Kathy Harringa of Forest City; daughter-in-law, Judy Harringa of Pleasant Hill; grandchildren, Seth Fisher, Cheryl Troxel, Kathryn Troxel, Richard Troxel, Amy Troxel, Brad and Jennifer Leuwerke, Jeff Leuwerke and Faye Norby, Dan and Angie Fisher, Ryan and Emily Harringa, Jennifer and Brian Roberts, Joy Boyd and Lisa Speicker; and many great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews and extended relatives.
She was preceded in death by her parents; husbands, Robert Fisher, Raymond Petersen and Benjamin Harringa; son, Robert Fisher; stepson, Dennis Harringa; sons-in-law, Bob Troxel and Dan Leuwerke; granddaughter, Danelle Harringa; and siblings, Evelyn Pendelton, Irvin Brandt and LeRoy Brandt.
SCHOTT FUNERAL HOME is handling arrangements. To read more and see the full obituary, please click here.
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