Category: Family News

Rose Mary Spaulding, beloved mother of classmate G. Richard Newell, died September 1, 2019 in Clearwater, Florida, at age 87. Rose was born in Proctor, Minnesota on February 6, 1932. She attended the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, Minnesota, and had a long career as an elementary school teacher. She taught in Iowa City for about 30 years, mostly at Ernest Horn Elementary School. After her retirement, she moved to Florida, and lived in the Clearwater area for about 20 years.

During her retirement, she was able to indulge her desire for travel. She took many ocean and river cruises. She told family and friends about things she especially enjoyed: seeing penguins in Australia, driving a dog sled in Alaska, and seeing the terracotta warriors in China. Most recently, she enjoyed a trip in January to Acapulco, Mexico with her son.

She is survived by her son, G. Richard Newell of Tracy, CA; her brother, Walter (Lois) Newell of Duluth, MN; sister-in-law Margaret Newell of Iowa City, IA; nephews and nieces: Steven (Deb) Newell of Inver Grove Heights, MN, Kathy Day of Apple Valley, MN, Mark (Karen) Newell of Camp Hill, PA, Blaine Newell of Bicknell, IN, Arna (Tom) Rutledge of Cedar Rapids, IA, Jan Rutledge (Dave Ulrick) of Iowa City, IA; and former son-in-law Paul Hauser of Rochester, NY. She is also survived by Nicolas Degennes, of Paris, France, who lived with Rose and her family while he was an exchange student, and who remained a dear friend. Rose’s family is grateful to her friends for their visits and support, and is especially grateful to Jean Norris, who was often at Rose’s bedside during her final illness.

Rose Mary was preceded in death by her husband, Cyrus R. Spaulding; her mother and father, Rose and Clifford Newell; daughter, Jackie Hauser; brothers Orville Newell, Robert Newell, and Frederick Newell; and son-in-law Benjamin Chavez.

Rose’s family is grateful for the high quality of life afforded by The Oaks in Clearwater, and for the excellent and compassionate care provided by the staff members of Morton Plant Hospital.

Rose enjoyed the many activities available at her complex in Clearwater, and several times was the Wii bowling champion. She enjoyed dining out, and attending live theater and other entertainment venues. Rose chose to have her remains cremated, put in a biodegradable urn, and released into the Gulf of Mexico. Rose’s ashes can travel the seven seas, as Rose takes off on her next big adventure.

Dave – forgot to write that I’m finally a grandma!

Three weeks ago today – July 7, Kairi Marie Annette Noth, 7 pounds, 21 inches, taken by C section at 11:06 PM. Everyone is doing well.

Her name is pronounced with a long i on the first syllable, and long e on the second, with the accent on the first syllable – Ki’-ree – of course the kids couldn’t make that easy. LOL She’s adorable and I’ve already adjusted to a girl. LOL When I babysat before and after school, I only took boys as that’s what I’m comfortable with. Will have to get my Susie Homemaker skills out eventually after all. LOL

Photos attached. One is of Chris with a T-shirt that Kairi nearly matches – CTRL C for Chris, CTRL V for Kairi – copy and pasting his genes to her. What a great nerd. Very doting husband and father just like his father was. I’m opting I believe for “Nana Noth” – has a nice ring to it. You may post. Ruth

Dave,

We have a new grandson today. Valerie and Alex Willcox (from Bozeman) are the proud parents to an 8 lb 3 oz, 20” long baby boy. No name at this time. This is our fifth grandchild, but also expecting another grandson at the end of August. We are excited to meet the little guy. Susan will be flying up there Sunday to help with the granddaughter for a few weeks. I’ll follow in a couple weeks.

Thanks,

Mark Ferguson

James C. “Jim” Searls, 92, of Iowa City, died Sunday, August 26, 2018 at his home.

Born August 22, 1926 in Mitchell, South Dakota, the son of Cluett “C.C.” and Leona (Collier) Searls, Jim grew up in Postville, Iowa, graduating from Postville High School. After high school, he worked for the Milwaukee Railroad before entering the US Army serving as a sergeant in the Western Pacific Command, during WWII on Okinawa. Following his discharge from the military, Jim married his longtime sweetheart, Mary Eberling, December 22, 1947 in Evanston, Illinois.

Jim later received his BS degree from Cornell College, where he was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. After his graduation from Cornell in 1950, he attended the University of Iowa where he received his D.D.S. He then moved his young family to Grinnell, Iowa, where he practiced dentistry for the next seven years. In 1962, he returned to Iowa city, where he received his PhD in Anatomy from the University of Iowa and joined the faculties in the colleges of Dentistry and Medicine.

Jim is survived by his wife of over 70 years, Mary; children, Trish Campanelli (Joe) of Iowa City, Jim Searls (Carol) of Iowa City, Tom Searls (Dan Mears) of Iowa City and Bill Searls of Coralville and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Dear Class of ’73

After reading Ruth’s family update, I decided it was time for me to do the same.

Julie and I both retired in January.  I was going to finish at the end of the school year but after having a student release a toxic substance in my classroom with the entire school being evacuated and the administration doing nothing, I decided it was time for me to leave.  I pretty much caught them by surprise and I have no regrets.  I sort of left with a sour taste in my mouth but have not missed it one day.  31 years in the classroom, I guess my shelf life had expired.

We are currently preparing to sell our house and will probably move to the Ocala area.  It is a little slower pace and people are generally much more pleasant to be around.  We also need to be closer to Julie’s dad who lives in that area.  Going though 30 years of stuff both ours and the kids has proven to be a task.  We have filled one bedroom and more stuff in the garage.  We are planning a yard sale in a few weeks, hopefully get rid of lots of stuff we have no desire to move.

After being retired for 4 months and doing something most days, it is hard to believe we got so much done on the weekends prior to retirement.  Doing chores and fix ups on our own pace seems to get a better result and allows us to make better decisions.  We  spend at least 2 times a week playing golf and enjoying our time together.  We also try to do things we never had time to do previously.

Our kids are doing great.  Ben, the oldest, is still in DC working as an engineering analyst for the FDOT.  He is such a prolific reader, the job fits him to a tee.  We have visited there a number of times and always find some new and interesting things to see or do.  I highly recommend DC as a vacation spot.  Many really great museums are free and are so interesting to visit.   Ben is still unmarried but has been seeing a lady for some time, so who knows.

Ben recently came down with several of his friends.  He came by to get some boxes he has had stored in our garage for the last 15 years.  He was surprised he had so much stuff.  It was mostly action figures and comic books.  He took some special things and left the rest for us to sell.  So we have probably 100 action figures of which I have no idea what they are or what they are worth, looks like a fire sale to me

Quin, the youngest, is in Orlando working in IT for Hilton Hotels.  We do get a savings on friends and family at their locations.  He is currently living with a long time girlfriend.  They bought a house in one of the suburbs and seem to be happy.  We see him whenever we go north to visit Julie’s dad.

We have not taken a long trip yet, as we are still getting our retirement monies put together.  We got lined up with a great pair of financial advisors from Morgan Stanley and so far have proven their worth.   We also have an old Golden Retriever and getting a house/dogsitter has become something of a task.   Whenever we travel north we do drop him off at Quin’s, but he has his life and is not always available. We have never had him doggie daycare feeling it would just kill him.  At nearly 13 he just wants to hang out with us.  He is not a great traveler, so we will just go with the flow.

Our lives have been really great.  We have traveled a lot and enjoy each others company.  We will celebrate our 42nd anniversary this summer.  We tend to think in a similar fashion and are willing to do things together.  At the end of May , we will go to St.Louis for a niece’s graduation.  We are taking Julie’s dad, which will be a challenge as he is a typical grumpy old man.  At 88 he will only take one more trip after that.  At the end of July we are going to a family reunion if northern South Dakota.  The  adults from Julie’s family are all getting together at a VBRO.  We will  then go to IC for a family get together with my family.  Unfortunately, we have to be back in Florida, or we would stay for the C/O ’73 reunion.  After nearly 3 weeks on the road, I am sure we will need to be home

Ok, Dave, here is the latest news from our family….

The following week, we expect to travel to Gilbertsville, PA for the birth of our forth grandchild. Krista, unfortunately won’t be coming to the wedding, but her husband, Nick and the two boys plan to be there. Here is Miles (4) and Mason (1-1/2).

We are planning an engagement party – birthday party for the couple and our grand daughter, Ellie (turning 3) in May. She lives in Bozeman, MT.

Bernard M. “Bud” Hansen, 92, of Iowa City, died Friday morning, January 26, 2018 at Mercy Hospice in Iowa City.

Born November 14, 1925 and raised in the Independence, Iowa area, Bud moved to Iowa City in 1943 which was in his junior year of high school where he attended Iowa City High School. He received an honorary diploma signed by Governor Branstad in 2002.

Bud met Berniece Dorrell in Winterset in the summer of 1943 and they were married Jan 19, 1947. He recently celebrated 71 years of marriage with his wife, “BC”. Bud served in the US Army 1944-1946. He fought in WWII’s Battle of the Bulge as a Sergeant in the “Lucky 7” Seventh Armored Division. His unit opened and liberated the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany. Some 50 years later, he had an improbable reunion with one of the few survivors of this death camp, Magda Herzberger, on April 14, 1994. Upon learning that she had married and moved to America settling in Dubuque, Iowa, Bud attended an event at Mt Mercy College in Cedar Rapids where she spoke about her horrific experience during the war as a then 19 year old. It was here that Magda met the young soldier who carried her out of the camp to save her life. Bud retraced his steps in the war throughout Germany and Belgium with his younger brother Jack in 2002. Bud and daughter, Soni flew on an Eastern Iowa Honor Flight to Washington DC with his fellow WWII veterans to see their memorials in September 2010.

Bud went to work for Means Brothers Grocery where he learned the meat cutting trade. He went on to work as a Meat Department Manager at Benner Tea Company in Iowa City which later became Giant Foods. In February of 1973 he helped open the original Hy-Vee store in Coralville, working in the meat department, until he retired from full time employment. He then went to work part time for the Waterfront Hy-Vee store in its meat department and fully retired in 2009.

Bud was a family man and stayed active coaching youth baseball when his son Mike played Little League and Babe Ruth, and he also enjoyed golfing and bowling. Bud and BC were loyal Hawkeye football and basketball fans and Bud also enjoyed attending Iowa men’s wrestling meets and baseball games as well as women’s softball games. He was an avid fan and supporter of City High football, wrestling, and baseball, and Iowa City West basketball.

Bud was a member of the Iowa City Moose Lodge and attended St. Andrew Presbyterian Church where he was a former Elder. He was a loving and giving Husband, Father, Brother, Grandfather, Great Grandfather, Uncle and FriendSurvivors include his wife, Berniece “BC” and their children, Mike Hansen and Soni Harney, both of Iowa City and Sue Hansen of Fairfield; grandsons Brock (Heather) of La Crosse, WI and Drew (Sarah) of North Liberty; sisters Darlene Crow (Graham) of San Antonio, Texas, and Arlene Troyer of Coralville; great granddaughter, Nora Claire Harney of La Crosse, WI, sister-in-laws, Viva of Des Moines and Shirlee of Portland, OR, and many nieces and nephews.

He is preceded in death by his parents Elmer and Mabel Hansen, sister Vona Willis, brothers Melvin and Jack, brothers-in-law Jack Willis and Carroll Troyer, and his son-in law, Phil Harney.

Memorials may be directed to Iowa City Hospice, 1025 Wade Street, Iowa City, Iowa, 52240 or The Veterans Liberty Center in Iowa City, 2116 S. Riverside Drive, Iowa City, Iowa, 52246.

Lowell J. Leichty, 85, of Cedar Rapids, formerly of Coralville, passed away Monday, November 20, 2017 at West Ridge Care Center. A Memorial “Celebration of Life for Lowell” will be held at 3 P.M., Saturday, December 2, 2017 at First Mennonite Church in Iowa City, where the family will great friends after 1:30 P.M. Burial will be in The First Mennonite Columbarium. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the Alzheimer’s Association or to Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA).

Lowell was born on September 7, 1932 the son of Willard and Ruth (Augsburger) Leichty. He graduated from Wayland High School in 1950. Lowell was united in marriage to Ruth Earnest on October 10, 1954; she preceded him in death on October 1, 2010. He and Ruth raised 5 children together in a loving family environment.

Lowell worked as a carpenter and as a farmer in the Wayland area for about 12 years. In 1966 he and Ruth moved to Coralville where he started his general contracting firm L.J. Leichty Construction. He was well respected in the community for the quality of his work and retired in 1997.

Lowell was deeply involved in the life of First Mennonite Church of Iowa City, where he served in many capacities. He especially liked to sing in the choir. He also served in volunteer capacities with the Pleasantview Home, Habitat for Humanity and Mennonite Disaster Service. He was also a dedicated member of the MEDA

Lowell is survived by his five children, Greg (Kathy) Leichty, Phil (Kim) Leichty, Kathy (Loren) Sands, Ruth (Brad) Giesking and Mark (Kristen) Leichty; 14 grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and siblings, Norman Leichty, Marilyn Roth, Wilma Lichti and Linda Williams.

He was preceded in death by his parents and brother, Daniel Leichty.