MCSWEENEY, Maxine Marie (Penney) 1918-2005

MCSWEENEY, PENNEY, MCPHAIL

Posted By: K. Kittleson
Date: 8/3/2011 at 18:29:19

Maxine M. McSweeney

CEDAR FALLS, IOWA — Maxine M. McSweeney, 86, of Cedar Falls, and formerly of Osage and Fort Dodge, died of heart failure Friday, (Feb. 25, 2005) at the Bartels Lutheran Retirement Community in Waverly.

Memorial services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, March 12, 2005, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church with inurnment at the Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery, both in Osage. A celebration of her life will be held at the K. C. Hall in Osage, immediately after the services.

There will be no visitation. In lieu of flowers, a memorial fund will be established.

Maxine Marie Penney was born near Little Cedar, Mitchell County, Iowa on Oct. 4, 1918, the eldest daughter of Clinton Henry (Joe) and Thelma Lois McPhail Penney. She attended Little Cedar Schools, graduating in the Class of 1936. After briefly attending Iowa State Teachers College (now the University of Northern Iowa), she married Robert Francis McSweeney, whom she had met in the first grade, on Nov. 25, 1936 in Cresco, Iowa. Their wedding was witnessed by her aunt and uncle, Oscar and Myra McPhail Johnson.

The couple set up housekeeping in Little Cedar and, through the years, worked on a number of farms in the county.

During World War II, along with their only daughter, Kay, the couple relocated to Bangor, Maine, Portales, N.M., and Portland, Ore. In Oregon, Maxine aided the war effort working as a welder in the shipyards. Following the war, the couple returned to Mitchell County, settling on a farm north of Little Cedar. They ended farming in 1962, moving to Fort Dodge, where Maxine worked for many years at the Friendship Haven Retirement Home before re-tiring in 1984. In 1985, they moved to Mason City where they lived for 15 years. The couple returned to Osage in 2000 where they lived until moving to Cedar Falls in 2003 to be near their daughter.

Her husband of 67 years, Robert, passed away on Feb. 20, 2004. Maxine moved to Bartels in Waverly in November 2004. Maxine had a great love of her family and friends. Her door was always open, the coffee always brewed and the table always full. She will be missed by all whom she touched during her 86 years.

Maxine was preceded in death by her parents; two brothers, Dean and Rex Penney; a sister, Ruth Penney Arnold; and an infant granddaughter.

She is survived by her daughter, Kay McSweeney of Cedar Falls; and her grandson, Michael Higgins of Indianapolis, Ind.; and many nieces and nephews.

Dahl-Van Hove-Schoof Funeral Home, 1825 W. 12th Street in Cedar Falls, is in charge of arrangements; (319) 266-7525.

[Mason City Globe Gazette, March 6, 2005]