Mary Ellen Tjossem Obituary

MARY ELLEN BOTTORFF TJOSSEM
May 7, 1936 – September 10, 2020

Mary Ellen Tjossem

Mary Ellen Bottorff Tjossem, age 84, of Primghar IA, passed away on September 10, 2020 at Prairie View Healthcare in Sanborn, IA.
Mary Ellen was born to Rex William and Helen Carlson Bottorff on May 7, 1936 in Pomona, California and grew up in Harcourt, Iowa. She graduated from Harcourt Consolidated School in 1954 and completed her three-year nurse’s training at Iowa Methodist Hospital/Drake University in Des Moines in 1957. She met Galen Robert Tjossem while they were both working at Iowa Methodist Hospital and they were united in marriage February 23, 1958 at the Harcourt United Methodist Church. They made their home on the farm outside Primghar, IA where they raised their 3 sons. Mary Ellen worked as a nurse at the Hartley Memorial Hospital. 
Mary Ellen was extremely involved in the Paullina Friends Meeting and Peace Links. She was an avid quilter and spent many Thursdays with her beloved quilting group at Mapleside. 
She will be remembered for her light-hearted spirit, her quick laugh, her sense of humor, her never-ending energy, her wonderful hugs, and her ready support. She was known for her cooking and her awesome pies, cookies and cinnamon rolls. 
She is survived by her husband of 62 years, Galen, her sons, Mark of Primghar, Bruce (Barbara) of Richfield MN and Steven (Christine) of Minneapolis MN; her 3 grandchildren, Kari of New York NY, Kyle (fiancé Ashle) of Brooklyn Park MN and Hanna of Minneapolis MN; her sister, Louise Opheim of Stuart IA, her brother, Dan (Susan) of Westfield NJ, her sister-in-law, Eunice of Ann Arbor MI and her nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents and brother, Ralph.

 Alzeheimers Poem.docx [drive.google.com]
 Bruce Eulogy.docx [drive.google.com]


Jeffrey Lee Cox Obituary

Dear Friends,

It is with heavy heart that we report the sudden passing of our beloved Friend Jeff Cox, who died early Sunday morning in the University of Iowa Hospitals.

A faithful member of Iowa City Monthly Meeting and Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative) for nearly thirty years, Jeff has served our communities in more ways than we can begin to recount.

A visitation will be held on Friday, February 14 from 4-6 PM at Lensing Funeral Home, 605 Kirkwood Ave., Iowa City.

There will be a memorial service on Saturday, February 15, 1:30 PM at Hickory Grove Meeting House, Scattergood Friends School near West Branch. A reception will follow in the main building.

Please hold Jeff’s wife Lois and his children Flossie and David in the Light in this difficult time.


Obituary for Jeffrey Lee Cox

Iowa City – Jeffrey Lee Cox, loving father, husband, scholar, and activist, passed away February 9th in Iowa City.

Visitation will be Friday, February 14, 2020 from 4 to 6 PM at Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service, Iowa City. A Memorial Service will be held at 1:30 PM, Saturday, February 15, 2020 at the Hickory Grove Meeting House, Scattergood Friends School, near West Branch. A reception will follow in the main building. A family committal service will be held. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the Iowa City Friends Meeting (Quakers), the Free Medical Clinic, ACLU of Iowa, or Riverside Theater.

Jeff was born on October 14th, 1947, in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Dr. Jack Ray Cox and Lillian Emily (Shutt) Cox. When he was very young, his parents moved to Teague, Texas, where he lived until graduating from high school as valedictorian of the class of 1966. In high school, he was chair of the Goldwater for President campaign, participated in football and basketball, and edited the school newspaper. Jeff always treasured his Texas roots and took great pride in being a Texan. He was a lifetime subscriber to The Teague Chronicle.

Jeff graduated Magna Cum Laude from Rice University, Houston, Texas, in 1970, with a BA in history and membership in Phi Beta Kappa. He was active in student government at Rice and gave an anti-Vietnam War address at his graduation.

Jeff received his PhD in British History from Harvard University in 1978. While he conducted research for his dissertation, he and his wife, Lois, lived for two years in London, where they became enthusiastic devotees of live theater. Late in life, he became an opera buff.

In 1977 Jeff started his academic career at the University of Iowa, where he remained until death. Classroom teaching was one of his favorite activities. An active member of the American Association of University Professors, he served as chair of the History Department from 1993 to 1996 and as president of the Faculty Senate from 2002 to 2003. He published four books and many articles on aspects of the social history of religion.

Religion was important in Jeff’s life not only professionally but also personally. His family was active in the Southern Baptist denomination, and he remained a member of it until early adulthood, serving as a missionary in Vietnam during one of his college summers. In the 1980s, he joined the Society of Friends (Quakers) and became an active member of the Iowa City Friends Meeting and of the Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative).

Jeff’s political activism and progressive principles gave him a prominent and influential voice in the life of the community. He actively recruited candidates for local office and articulated a positive vision for progressive change in Iowa City. A longtime Democratic Party activist, he served as chair of the Johnson County Democrats and as a member of the Iowa State Central Committee. Jeff always described himself as a democratic socialist. For more than 30 years he co-edited a widely read community newsletter, The Prairie Progressive.

Jeff’s relationship with his children was the highlight of his life. He is survived by his wife of 48 years, Lois (Kincheloe) Cox; his two brothers, Andrew and Russell; and his two children, Flossie (Eleanor) Ruth Cox, of San Francisco, California, and David Martin Cox, of Charlotte, North Carolina.

Online condolences may be sent to www.lensingfuneral.com

Jean Sandstrom memorial January 4, 2019

 

Dear Friends –
I want to let you know that our beloved Friend  and DMVF Co-clerk Jean Sandstrom has passed into the light. How we will miss her.
Andy and Family will update us with memorial arrangements as they become clear, though it is likely that the services for her will be planned for Saturday, January 4.
Please continue to hold her family in the light. You can send cards to Andy Shaffer, Neal and Noemie, to 3927 Waveland Drive, Des Moines, IA 50311.
Thank you, All, for the beautiful love and care that you shared with Jean and her family during her illness.

Ann Robinson

Des Moines Valley Friends, Co-Clerk
A Quaker memorial service will be held Saturday, Jan. 4, at 11 a.m. in Waveland Hall at Plymouth Church, 4126 Ingersoll Ave., Des Moines. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service.

Burt Kisling Memorial

Dear Friends,

Burton KislingIt is with deep sadness that Bear Creek Friends share news of Burt Kisling’s passing on March 21, 2018. With his kind heart and welcoming spirit, he will be greatly missed. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Birdie, Jeff, Jon, Randy, Lisa and the extended family, as we hold them in the Light. A memorial service of remembrance for Burt Kisling will be held at Bear Creek Friends Meeting, near Earlham, Iowa, on Saturday April 14th at 10:30 a.m., with lunch following worship. in peace, Jackie Leckband on behalf of Bear Creek Friends

Memorial            Photo Gallery


Wanda Knight obituary

Whanda Knight

Wanda Florene (Standing) Knight, 90 of Indianola formerly of Earlham passed away at her home on Sunday, July 22, 2018. Memorial service will be held at 10:30 AM on Tuesday, July 31st at the Bear Creek Friends Meeting House, rural Earlham. Memorial contributions may be directed to the Bear Creek Friends Meeting House.

Wanda was born to Arthur and Lydia Standing on April 30, 1928 in Earlham, Iowa. She and her sister Reva, older by two years, grew up on a farm in Earlham, Iowa, where their family attended Bear Creek Meeting and was part of the Quaker (Society of Friends) community.

In high school Wanda attended Scattergood Friends School, where she met Roy Paul Knight. The two were students at William Penn College for a short time before being married on August 30, 1947, in the Bear Creek Meetinghouse. The following year their first child, Ronald Pat (1948) was born, followed by Pamela Kay (1950, married Tom Madden), Paulette Ann (1954, married Jim Green), Nicholas Scott (1961, married Carrie Harris), and Thomas Kurt (1964). 

After living for some time in Indianola, the Knights moved to the century farm where Wanda had grown up in Earlham and where they grew alfalfa and raised livestock. Roy established the Knight Building Company, and Wanda helped with the business while running the household. She was active in the arts community and loved to draw, paint, sew, and sing. She was involved with the Society of Friends throughout her life, including working with the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC).

Wanda and Roy moved to the Wesley Village in Indianola in 2001. After Roy died in 2005, Wanda continued to enjoy friends and family and was an active part of the Village community. 

Wanda was a loving spirit with an enormous heart. She had a wonderful sense of humor and was an inveterate jokester and prankster. She was a mother and friend to many. She was greatly loved and will be greatly missed. 

Wanda is survived by her five children and their families, including fourteen grandchildren and a bevy of beautiful great-grandchildren, as well as her brother-in-law John Griffith and many other relatives and friends. She is preceded in death by her husband Roy, her sister Reva, her sister-in-law Frances Lee, her brother-in-law Laverne, and others.