KLEMME – A. Colleen Abele, 78, of rural Klemme, died Saturday (May 31, 2008) at the Kanawha Community Home.

Funeral services will be held 1:30 P.M., Tuesday at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Mason City with Bishop Ronald Billings officiating. Burial will be in Concord Township Cemetery in Garner.

Visitation will be held from 6 to 8 P.M., Monday at the Cataldo Funeral Chapel, 160 E. 4th St. in Garner and will continue one hour prior to services on Tuesday.

Memorials may be directed to the Kanawha Community Home, who provided such loving and outstanding care.

Anita Colleen Abele, the daughter of Loyal Child and Gladys Victoria (Stone) Stokes, was born August 8, 1929 at Ogden, UT. Her father was a boilermaker for the Union Pacific Railroad and her mother worked as a homemaker. Colleen attended classes at Weber State College and served a mission for her church in Texas and Louisiana. She worked as a short hand stenographer for the 2nd Street Army Depot. Due to her exceptional skills, she was often the recorder for high ranking officers. While working her civilian job on the base, she met her future husband, Harry Abele, a young sergeant in the Army just back from Korea. They met in June of 1953 and were married on October 3, 1953 in Ogden, UT. Harry brought his bride back to Iowa to live on the family farm southeast of Britt. They raised five children and she remained on the farm until her move to the Kanawha Community Home in January of 2007. Colleen was very creative and enjoyed gardening, flower arranging and making bread. She also enjoyed sharing these with friends and neighbors and often had entries in local competitions. She loved to fish, entertain and spend time with her children and grandchildren. She wrote several songs, poems and children’s stories. She leaves behind a legacy of love and caring for family, friends and strangers.

She was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Mason City.

Colleen is survived by her husband, Harry R. Abele; five children, Collette Brunscheen of Waukee, Joanne (Robert) Wright of Lakeville, MN, Cindy O’Hara of Norwalk, David (Karen) Abele of Sterling, IL and Jeanette (Richard) Volz of Eden Prairie, MN; fourteen grandchildren; a great-granddaughter; a brother, John Stokes of Los Alamos, NM; and two sisters, Carol (Larry) Taylor of Ogden, UT and Elaine Neal of Ogden, UT.

She was preceded in death by an infant son; her parents; a son-in-law, John O’Hara; and a sister, LaWana Stokes. ... Read More