Patsey C. Farrell (1940-2020)

FARRELL, JONES, CLAUSEN

Posted By: Ken Wright (email)
Date: 5/23/2021 at 17:43:30

Patsey Carol (Clausen) Farrell, 80, of Goose Lake, Iowa, passed away on Monday, September 28, 2020. She was born on June 25, 1940, in a farmhouse near Goose Lake to Harold and Effie (Jones) Clausen. She married Kenny Farrell on October 25, 1958 in Delmar, Iowa.

Patsey was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and aunt who enjoyed spending time with her family and had a knack for making each of them feel special in their own way. She readily shared her talents with her family, from sewing a Cowardly Lion costume for a school play or a T-shirt quilt to mark a graduation to decorating cakes for special occasions. She loved to be outdoors whether it was taking care of her lawn and garden or hiking with her family in the mountains of Colorado.

Patsey enjoyed history, reading, traveling, attending theater or movies with her friend Will, fixing up her 1970 Cutlass, and watching her children and grandchildren participate in their many activities. She was always up for adventure, and in 2018 trekked across Ireland, Germany, Austria, Italy, England and Wales on a family trip, pulling her suitcase across the canals of Venice and pushing her grandson’s stroller through the streets of Liverpool. Her accordion and delicious desserts were a fixture at family gatherings.

Patsey was proud to be an Iowa farm girl with deep roots in Clinton and Jackson Counties. She attended the Deep Creek Valley one-room school and graduated from Goose Lake High School where she participated in softball and six-on-six basketball, played the tuba in the school band, and was class valedictorian. After graduating high school and marrying Kenny, she moved into Goose Lake where she lived for 62 years supporting her community and the school.

Patsey was known in her community as generous and service oriented.
Patsey was a member of Assumption Catholic Church in Charlotte where she taught religious education for 20 years. She volunteered her talent and time in her community by serving on the Goose Lake City Council for 26 years, the Clinton County Landfill Committee, the Maquoketa River Watershed Management Authority, Friends of Jackson County Conservation, Clinton County Historical Society, and coaching Little League. She worked at Goose Lake Savings Bank, Clinton National Bank, and was dedicated in her position as a secretary to the superintendent at Northeast Community School District for over 30 years.

She is dearly missed by her children Karlen (Kevin) Uhde of Hiawatha, Iowa; Kevin (Anne) Farrell of Davenport, Iowa; Carol (John) Kerr of Winona, Minnesota; Brian (Sara) Farrell of Toddville, Iowa; her grandchildren Koreen, Owen, Kaitlyn, Alie, Tom, Ben, Bead, Hart, Norah, and Rowan; her great-grandchildren Kei, Malcolm, Roslyn, and Nina; her sisters Fern Ackermann, Peggy Stevens, Judy (Lynn) Soenksen and Charlotte (Curt) Pefferman; and many other loving in-laws, nieces and nephews.

She is preceded in death by her husband Kenny; her parents; and her brother Richard Clausen.

Patsey was always thinking of others. In keeping with her wishes to avoid risk to anyone’s health, services at this time will be private. Her children look forward to celebrating her life with friends and family at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, Patsey’s family welcomes contributions to support causes dear to her heart, such as the Goose Lake City Park and Camp Courageous. Checks made to “Patsey Farrell Memorial” and/or condolences can be mailed to the Farrell Family, PO Box 33, Goose Lake, Iowa 52750.