Marie Atwood

Marie Lucille Atwood, 90, of Sigourney, went home to be with the Lord on Tuesday, June 15, 2010.
Marie was born near South English, Iowa, on April 30, 1920, the daughter of Olan Rufus and Mary Pearl (Kirkpatrick) Dyson. She grew up near Keswick and was a member of the Adams Hustlers 4-H Club. She graduated Keswick High School in 1937 and received her teaching certificate from Iowa Teachers College in Cedar Falls. She taught at Monkey Den, Lick Skillet, and Garibaldi country schools in Keokuk County.
Marie was united in marriage to Arley Ellsworth Atwood on March 15, 1942, at the English River Church of the Brethren near South English. After Arley was discharged from the service, they made their home and farmed northwest of Sigourney.
As a farmwife and homemaker, Marie enjoyed gardening, canning, raising chickens, sewing, and making quilts for her family. She also loved kittens, flowers, sweets, angels, the color blue, and visiting with friends and neighbors who stopped to buy eggs. Her angel food cakes and homemade ice cream were family favorites. Marie was an assistant leader of the Stick-to-It 4-H Club from 1965 to 1982, and she was inducted into the 2009 Iowa 4-H Hall of Fame for Keokuk County. She enjoyed taking exhibits to the fair. She was a member of the neighborhood Always Welcome Club and the Sigourney Women's Club Music Department. Her faith was a very important part of her life, and she was a member and deacon of the English River Church of the Brethren.
She lived in her home on the farm until May 7, 2010, when she entered Manor House Care Center in Sigourney due to declining health after two and one-half years of kidney dialysis. She died in her sleep at the Manor House.
She is survived by her six children: Neda and husband Chuck Spiegel of Sigourney, Duane and wife Cindy Atwood of Sigourney, Nadine and husband Kenny Vance of Melrose, Wilma and husband Eric Donhowe of Des Moines, Gwen and husband Bob Etter of Sigourney, and Sharon and husband Nathan Fritchen of Ollie. She is also survived by 12 grandchildren: Traci Herb, Norman and wife Stephanie Atwood, Jay Atwood, Stephani Atwood, Brandi Hammond, R. J. Hammond, Elyse Donhowe, Katie Etter, Daniel Etter, Aaron Fritchen, Brenda Fritchen, and Bridget Fritchen; 7 step-grandchildren: Karen and husband Joe Spiegel, Heather and husband Troy Barthelman, Rhonda and husband Scott Nichols, Joe Eiben, Sheri Vance, Brenda Haines, and Wes Vance; 7 great grandchildren: Ryan Jones; Savannah, Gabrielle 'Bree', Sydney, Georgia, Sophia, and Miles Atwood; 11 step-great grandchildren: Zoe and Maya Spiegel; Autum, Summer, and Rain Barthelman; Cole, Haley, Luke, and Claire Nichols; and Kayla and Bryce Haines; one brother, Glenn and wife Dorothy Dyson; sisters-in-law Fern Dyson and Jeri Dyson; and many nieces and nephews.
Marie was preceded in death by her husband, Arley, on July 21, 1992; her parents; three brothers and four sisters: Oral Dyson, Anna Winegarden, Margie Schauf, Eldon Dyson, Helen Jackson, Lester Dyson, and Hilda Winegarden; and step-grandson, Charles Spiegel.

Funeral services will be Saturday, June 19, 2010, at 10:00 a.m. at the English River Church of the Brethren near South English.
Visitation will be from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, June 18, at the Holm Funeral Home, Sigourney, with the family present from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
A memorial has been established.