Obituaries

Leta Mae Christy, age 84, passed away peacefully on Friday, December 13, 2019 at Virginia Gay Hospital in Vinton .Funeral services will be held at 10:30 AM, Wednesday, December 18, 2019 at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Garrison with Rev. Mark Leckband officiating.  Interment will be held at the Garrison Cemetery.  Her family will greet friends from 4:00 until 7:00 PM, Tuesday, at the Phillips funeral Home Chapel (212 E.

Virginia Marie (Kemme) Kerkman, age 96, passed away on Friday, December 13, 2019 at the West Ridge Care Center in Cedar Rapids.Funeral services will be held at 11:00 AM, Tuesday, December 17, 2019 at St. John Lutheran Church in Newhall with Rev. Steven Rempfer officiating.  Interment will be held at Cedar Memorial Park Cemetery in Cedar Rapids.

Sandra L. Boots, 82, died of natural causes Thursday, December 12, 2019 at The Views in Marion. A Celebration of Sandra’s life will be 1-3 pm Saturday, December 21, 2019 at the Robins City Hall, 265 S 2nd St., Robins, IA. Burial will be in Oakwood Cemetery, Shellsburg.Sandra was born March 5, 1937, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the daughter of Raymond and Maxine Phillips Comried.

JoAnne Blattler Levenhagen, age 95, passed away peacefully on Monday, December 9, 2019, at her home in the Meth-Wick Community.Funeral services will be held at 10:30 AM, Friday, December 13, 2019, at the Phillips Funeral Home Chapel (212 E. 6th Street) in Vinton.  Interment will be held at Oakwood Cemetery in Shellsburg.  Visitation will be held from 9:00 AM until service time on Friday at the funeral home.

Kimberley Anne Swore, 50, of Center Point, Iowa, was tragically taken from her family and friends on Sunday, Dec. 1, 2019.Kim was born on Oct. 1, 1969, and is survived by her son, Jackson Jerimiah Greenhaw, Center Point, Iowa; the love of her life, Jack Greenhaw, Vinton, Iowa; nephew, Nathan Lovell; parents, Ruby Long, Monticello, Iowa, and Jerry (Beverly) Swore, Boone, Iowa; siblings: Mark (Valinh) and children, Ryker and Alexander, Altoona, Iowa; Jennifer (Jason) Brandt and children, Stefon (daughter, Mahra), Kyleigh, Sierra, Morgan and Savannah, Alburnett, Iowa; Tina (George) Milburn and children, Kelsie (Kaleb) Wills and Haley (Trent), Boone, Iowa; Teri Hermann and children, Chantalle (Jason) Noelck and Caden, Boone, Iowa; Tami (Bob) Baker and children, Rachel (Josh) Witkop, Ella and Rowan, Albany, N.

Joyce Marie Pollock, 84, died Saturday, December 7, 2019.  She was a longtime resident at Windsor Manor in Vinton.A private memorial service will be held at a later date.Joyce was born on January 1, 1935, the daughter of Howard and Ruth (Welton) Hagan in Shellsburg, Iowa. She married Tom C. Lynch in November, 1951 and they had four children.

Norman Dave Thiessen, age 85, died December 6, 2019, at St. Luke’s Hospital, from an apparent heart attack.Funeral services will be held at 1:30 PM, Wednesday, December 11, 2019 at St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church in Atkins with Rev. Douglas Woltemath officiating.  Interment will be held at St. Stephen’s Cemetery, rural Atkins.  Visitation will be held from 4:00 until 7:00 PM Tuesday also at the St.

Richard “Dick” Close, age 73, passed away early Wednesday morning, December 4, 2019, at the V.A. Medical Center in Iowa City, IA. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Monday, December 9, 2019, at the Mitchell Family Funeral Home in Marshalltown with full military honors. Burial will follow in the Littleton Cemetery, Littleton, IA at 3pm Monday.

Benny Duffer, 63, died Tuesday, November 19, 2019 at his home in Vinton following a lengthy battle with cancer.A celebration of Benny’s life will be held from 1 to 4 pm, Saturday, December 14, 2019, at the Vinton American Legion Hall.Benny Dewayne Duffer was born March 18, 1956 in Hendersonville, TN, the son of Ben and Lillie Jones Duffer. After graduating from high school, Benny attended college for a time but his passion was making music and that is the career he pursued.

Delores Lucille (Kramer) Glass, age 95, passed away peacefully at the Dennis and Donna Oldorf Hospice House of Mercy in Hiawatha on Tuesday, December 3, 2019.Mass of Christian burial will be held at 11:00 AM, Saturday, December 7, 2019, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Vinton with Fr. Jim Brokman as celebrant.  Interment will be held at Evergreen Cemetery in Vinton.