Avoca IA Funeral Homes
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501 North Locust Street
Avoca, IA 51521
(712) 343-4444
203 South Walnut Street
Avoca, IA 51521
(712) 343-2453
Avoca IA Obituaries and Death Notices
Monday, March 27, 2017But the rounded stones of Flathead Lake, Mont., aren’t mere pebbles. Beneath the crisp, transparent water, their straight-from-the-1970s hues — dusty mauve, adobe and pale avocado — are magnified, becoming deep purples, oranges and greens.They are so spectacular that when I left a week later, I brought with me a plastic bag full of stones that I arranged in a glass jar and placed in my kitchen window. The multicolored mosaic is an unmarked memorial to my grandmother Frances Evans, who was raised among the yellow pine, lowland fir, red cedar and cherry orchard banks of the Flathead.One of the largest natural freshwater lakes west of the Mississippi, the Flathead is a striking body of water — clear and green and fed by snowmelt from Glacier National Park, 40 miles north. I hadn’t been there since age 3, when my entire extended family traveled to my grandmother’s hometown, Bigfork, on the lake’s northern tip, for a reunion. Memories of tubing in a chilly river and camping along the shore are almost certainly lifted from family lore. Still, I feel bound to this place, which has always been central to my family’s story. After becoming a mother, I was moved to take my 13-month-old daughter, Roxie, there.What I didn’t know was that in recent decades, Bigfork has become an affluent lakeside resort town. Its streets are lined with galler...
Monday, January 23, 2017GIBSON CITY – Norman Beecher Ashley, 84, of Gibson City died at 3:40 a.m. on Friday (Jan. 20, 2017) at Avocate BroMenn Medical Center, Normal.His funeral service will be 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 28, at St. John's Lutheran Church, Anchor, with the Rev. Jim Davis officiating. Burial will be in Drummer Township Cemetery in Gibson City with military rites by the Lee Lowery American Legion in Gibson City. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday at Lamb Funeral Home in Gibson City.In lieu of other expressions of sympathy, memorials may be made to St. John's Lutheran Church, Anchor.Mr. Ashley was born May 20, 1932, in Sibley, a son of Clyde and Rose Beecher Ashley.Survivors include his sister, Sherilyn (Donald) Bathgate; nieces and nephews, Elaine (Mark) Ploense, Diane (Bob) Edgington, Cindy (Gary Omar) Bathgate, Kevin (Tami) Bathgate, Carla (Karl) Kinch and Carrie Ashley; and many great-nieces and nephews.He was preceded in death by his parents, Clyde and Rose; a brother, Wesley Ashley; and his nephew, Eric Ashley.Norman graduated from Sibley High School and went on to study at the Universit...
Obituaries of residents from the District, Maryland and Northern Virginia - Washington Post
Monday, January 09, 2017National Institutes of Health and worked at the Vitro Corp. As a young woman, she was a licensed airplane pilot and flew non-commercial single-prop aircraft as an avocation.Amy Thorne, CIA officerAmy Thorne, 54, a CIA intelligence officer from 1985 to 1995, died Nov. 20 at a medical center in Idaho Falls, Idaho. The cause was a heart attack, said her husband, Steve Thorne.Mrs. Thorne was born Amy Kline in Pittsburgh and grew up in Fairfax County, Va. She also accompanied her father on his CIA postings to Africa, Asia and Europe. In 1995 she moved from Fairfax to North Bend, Wash., and later to Idaho Falls.Lester Schlitz, judge, mediatorLester Schlitz, 99, a Virginia state judge and member of the legislature who in retirement was a mediator at the D.C. Superior Court, died Nov. 2 at his home in Chevy Chase, Md. The cause was heart ailments, said a son, David Schlitz.Judge Schlitz was born in Portsmouth, Va., where he practiced law and served as chief judge of the 3rd Judicial Circuit of Virginia. He also was a Democratic member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 1968 to 1975. He moved to the Washington area in 1996 after his retirement and, until 95, was a D.C. Superior Court mediator, assisting in dispute resolution.Jean Rainey, public relations specialistJean Rainey, 91, who spent about 50 years as a Washington-area public relations specialist, working for trade associations, her own firm and for Edelman, died Nov. 18 at an assisted-living center in Washington. The cause was sepsis, said a daughter, Cynthia Rainey.Mrs. Rainey, a District resident, was born in Lansing, Mich., and moved to the Washington area in 1942. She wrote a 1972 book on practi...
Monday, December 12, 2016Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, and Army Achievement Medal.Major Evans was born on February 19th, 1955 in Washington, D.C. to Robert and Ruth Evans and is a graduate of Avoca Central School in New York. In 1977, he graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point and upon graduation began his career as an Army Field Artillery officer assigned to the 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. Follow-on assignments included command of a 250 man unit in the 2nd Armored Division, Fort Hood, Texas; selection to graduate school followed by assignment as a mathematics instructor at the United States Military Academy Preparatory School, Fort Monmouth, N.J.; and Systems Analyst, Directorate of Combat Developments, Fort Sill, Okla. He retired in 1995 as a Senior Analyst, Army Information Warfare office, INSCOM, Ft. Belvoir. Major Evans earned a master’s degree in biomedical engineering from the University of Texas. Upon his retirement from the military, he went on to have a successful career at IT consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton, where he served as a Senior Associate within Strategic Innovation Group until his passing. Major Evans was a devout Christian, where in his free time, he volunteered at the Manchester Lakes Assisted Living Facility as their Pastor. He was also a proud, caring, and loving husband, father, and grandfather spending an overwhelming majority of his weekends entertaining family. He is survived by his loving wife of te...
Monday, October 24, 2016But the rounded stones of Flathead Lake, Mont., aren’t mere pebbles. Beneath the crisp, transparent water, their straight-from-the-1970s hues — dusty mauve, adobe and pale avocado — are magnified, becoming deep purples, oranges and greens. They are so spectacular that when I left, a week later, I brought with me a Ziploc bag-size collection that I have since arranged in a glass jar — submerged in unworthy urban tap water — and placed in my kitchen window. The multicolored mosaic is an unmarked memorial to my grandmother Frances Evans, who was raised among the yellow pine, lowland fir, red cedar and cherry orchard banks of the Flathead.The largest natural freshwater lake west of the Great Lakes, the Flathead is a striking body of water — clear and green and fed by snowmelt from Glacier National Park, just 40 miles north. I hadn’t been there since I was 3, when my entire extended family — called the “California Evanses” — traveled to my grandmother’s hometown, Bigfork, on the lake’s northern tip, for a reunion. My memories of tubing in a chilly river and camping along the shore are almost certainly lifted from family lore. Still, I feel bound to this place, which has always been central to my family’s story. After becoming a mother, I was moved to take my 13-month-old daughter, Roxie, there.What I didn’t know was that in recent de...
Monday, August 29, 2016Home and Korisko Larkin Staskiewicz Funeral Home. Preceded by parents, Gustaf H. and Leona (Gingrich) Nelson, Sr. and his sister. Survived by his wife of 69 years, Pauline L. (Majeski) Nelson of Avoca, IA; sons, Richard L. (Karen) Nelson of Council Bluffs, Gary R. (Julie) Nelson of Neola, IA; daughter, Dianne (Steve) Betz of Sunrise Beach, MO; 9 grandchildren, 21 great-grandchildren; and sister, Lorraine Dunn of Council Bluffs. MASONIC SERVICE, Sunday, 3pm followed by VISITATION with the family until 5pm at Cutler-O'Neill-Meyer-Woodring Bayliss Park Chapel. FUNERAL SERVICE, Monday, 10am at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 517 So. 32nd St. Interment Cedar Lawn Cemetery with military rites tendered by the Kanesville Honor Guard. Memorials are suggested to Care Initiatives Hospice or the Alzheimer's Association. Cutler-O'Neill-Meyer-Woodring Bayliss Park Chapel 545 Willow Ave., Council Bluffs, IA 712-322-7779...
Avoca News
Monday, March 27, 2017But the rounded stones of Flathead Lake, Mont., aren’t mere pebbles. Beneath the crisp, transparent water, their straight-from-the-1970s hues — dusty mauve, adobe and pale avocado — are magnified, becoming deep purples, oranges and greens.They are so spectacular that when I left a week later, I brought with me a plastic bag full of stones that I arranged in a glass jar and placed in my kitchen window. The multicolored mosaic is an unmarked memorial to my grandmother Frances Evans, who was raised among the yellow pine, lowland fir, red cedar and cherry orchard banks of the Flathead.One of the largest natural freshwater lakes west of the Mississippi, the Flathead is a striking body of water — clear and green and fed by snowmelt from Glacier National Park, 40 miles north. I hadn’t been there since age 3, when my entire extended family traveled to my grandmother’s hometown, Bigfork, on the lake’s northern tip, for a reunion. Memories of tubing in a chilly river and camping along the shore are almost certainly lifted from family lore. Still, I feel bound to this place, which has always been central to my family’s story. After becoming a mother, I was moved to take my 13-month-old daughter, Roxie, there.What I didn’t know was that in recent decades, Bigfork has become an affluent lakeside resort town. Its streets are lined with galler...
Monday, January 23, 2017GIBSON CITY – Norman Beecher Ashley, 84, of Gibson City died at 3:40 a.m. on Friday (Jan. 20, 2017) at Avocate BroMenn Medical Center, Normal.His funeral service will be 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 28, at St. John's Lutheran Church, Anchor, with the Rev. Jim Davis officiating. Burial will be in Drummer Township Cemetery in Gibson City with military rites by the Lee Lowery American Legion in Gibson City. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday at Lamb Funeral Home in Gibson City.In lieu of other expressions of sympathy, memorials may be made to St. John's Lutheran Church, Anchor.Mr. Ashley was born May 20, 1932, in Sibley, a son of Clyde and Rose Beecher Ashley.Survivors include his sister, Sherilyn (Donald) Bathgate; nieces and nephews, Elaine (Mark) Ploense, Diane (Bob) Edgington, Cindy (Gary Omar) Bathgate, Kevin (Tami) Bathgate, Carla (Karl) Kinch and Carrie Ashley; and many great-nieces and nephews.He was preceded in death by his parents, Clyde and Rose; a brother, Wesley Ashley; and his nephew, Eric Ashley.Norman graduated from Sibley High School and went on to study at the Universit...
Obituaries of residents from the District, Maryland and Northern Virginia - Washington Post
Monday, January 09, 2017National Institutes of Health and worked at the Vitro Corp. As a young woman, she was a licensed airplane pilot and flew non-commercial single-prop aircraft as an avocation.Amy Thorne, CIA officerAmy Thorne, 54, a CIA intelligence officer from 1985 to 1995, died Nov. 20 at a medical center in Idaho Falls, Idaho. The cause was a heart attack, said her husband, Steve Thorne.Mrs. Thorne was born Amy Kline in Pittsburgh and grew up in Fairfax County, Va. She also accompanied her father on his CIA postings to Africa, Asia and Europe. In 1995 she moved from Fairfax to North Bend, Wash., and later to Idaho Falls.Lester Schlitz, judge, mediatorLester Schlitz, 99, a Virginia state judge and member of the legislature who in retirement was a mediator at the D.C. Superior Court, died Nov. 2 at his home in Chevy Chase, Md. The cause was heart ailments, said a son, David Schlitz.Judge Schlitz was born in Portsmouth, Va., where he practiced law and served as chief judge of the 3rd Judicial Circuit of Virginia. He also was a Democratic member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 1968 to 1975. He moved to the Washington area in 1996 after his retirement and, until 95, was a D.C. Superior Court mediator, assisting in dispute resolution.Jean Rainey, public relations specialistJean Rainey, 91, who spent about 50 years as a Washington-area public relations specialist, working for trade associations, her own firm and for Edelman, died Nov. 18 at an assisted-living center in Washington. The cause was sepsis, said a daughter, Cynthia Rainey.Mrs. Rainey, a District resident, was born in Lansing, Mich., and moved to the Washington area in 1942. She wrote a 1972 book on practi...
Monday, December 12, 2016Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, and Army Achievement Medal.Major Evans was born on February 19th, 1955 in Washington, D.C. to Robert and Ruth Evans and is a graduate of Avoca Central School in New York. In 1977, he graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point and upon graduation began his career as an Army Field Artillery officer assigned to the 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. Follow-on assignments included command of a 250 man unit in the 2nd Armored Division, Fort Hood, Texas; selection to graduate school followed by assignment as a mathematics instructor at the United States Military Academy Preparatory School, Fort Monmouth, N.J.; and Systems Analyst, Directorate of Combat Developments, Fort Sill, Okla. He retired in 1995 as a Senior Analyst, Army Information Warfare office, INSCOM, Ft. Belvoir. Major Evans earned a master’s degree in biomedical engineering from the University of Texas. Upon his retirement from the military, he went on to have a successful career at IT consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton, where he served as a Senior Associate within Strategic Innovation Group until his passing. Major Evans was a devout Christian, where in his free time, he volunteered at the Manchester Lakes Assisted Living Facility as their Pastor. He was also a proud, caring, and loving husband, father, and grandfather spending an overwhelming majority of his weekends entertaining family. He is survived by his loving wife of te...
Monday, October 24, 2016But the rounded stones of Flathead Lake, Mont., aren’t mere pebbles. Beneath the crisp, transparent water, their straight-from-the-1970s hues — dusty mauve, adobe and pale avocado — are magnified, becoming deep purples, oranges and greens. They are so spectacular that when I left, a week later, I brought with me a Ziploc bag-size collection that I have since arranged in a glass jar — submerged in unworthy urban tap water — and placed in my kitchen window. The multicolored mosaic is an unmarked memorial to my grandmother Frances Evans, who was raised among the yellow pine, lowland fir, red cedar and cherry orchard banks of the Flathead.The largest natural freshwater lake west of the Great Lakes, the Flathead is a striking body of water — clear and green and fed by snowmelt from Glacier National Park, just 40 miles north. I hadn’t been there since I was 3, when my entire extended family — called the “California Evanses” — traveled to my grandmother’s hometown, Bigfork, on the lake’s northern tip, for a reunion. My memories of tubing in a chilly river and camping along the shore are almost certainly lifted from family lore. Still, I feel bound to this place, which has always been central to my family’s story. After becoming a mother, I was moved to take my 13-month-old daughter, Roxie, there.What I didn’t know was that in recent de...
Monday, August 29, 2016Home and Korisko Larkin Staskiewicz Funeral Home. Preceded by parents, Gustaf H. and Leona (Gingrich) Nelson, Sr. and his sister. Survived by his wife of 69 years, Pauline L. (Majeski) Nelson of Avoca, IA; sons, Richard L. (Karen) Nelson of Council Bluffs, Gary R. (Julie) Nelson of Neola, IA; daughter, Dianne (Steve) Betz of Sunrise Beach, MO; 9 grandchildren, 21 great-grandchildren; and sister, Lorraine Dunn of Council Bluffs. MASONIC SERVICE, Sunday, 3pm followed by VISITATION with the family until 5pm at Cutler-O'Neill-Meyer-Woodring Bayliss Park Chapel. FUNERAL SERVICE, Monday, 10am at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 517 So. 32nd St. Interment Cedar Lawn Cemetery with military rites tendered by the Kanesville Honor Guard. Memorials are suggested to Care Initiatives Hospice or the Alzheimer's Association. Cutler-O'Neill-Meyer-Woodring Bayliss Park Chapel 545 Willow Ave., Council Bluffs, IA 712-322-7779...
