The Vernon County Bar Association recently received a donation of approximately $30,000 from the estate of the wife of a former county judge and district attorney.

The donation, totaling $29,333.33 came from the Estate of Marjorie C. ("Midge") Sieger, who died at age 89 in Viroqua in December of 2007.

Sieger's husband, Larry, had been a longtime Vernon County District Attorney who also served as Vernon County Judge. He died in Viroqua in January of 2006.

Bar association treasurer Tim Gaskell, Vernon County's District Attorney, said the association was going to hold a meeting in the near future to discuss how the donation should be used.

Sieger was a World War II veteran who was an attorney in Viroqua for 10 years before being elected district attorney in 1956. He served in that capacity until 1968, when he was appointed county judge by Gov. Warren Knowles. He finished the term and again ran for district attorney and was re-elected.

Larry Sieger had also served as a member of the Vernon County Board and had been a legal advisor to the Viroqua Area Schools.

He and Midge were married in 1989.

A bar association is a professional group of attorneys. Some bar associations are responsible for the regulation of attorneys in their jurisdiction; others are professional organizations dedicated to serving their members; in some cases, they are both.