Margaret Ellen Daves 1933 - 2008

DAVES, WELCH, HOWE

Posted By: deb (email)
Date: 12/25/2014 at 21:07:00

Margaret Ellen Daves passed away Dec. 3, 2008, at the home of her daughter in Rockport, Texas.

The youngest of six children, Margaret was born Jan. 7, 1933, at the family farm on Pegtown Road near Kingston, Iowa, to Carl and Jesse Welch Howe. She attended the Kingston School and St. Mary Church near her home. The family later moved to Burlington, where she graduated from Burlington Catholic High School. She worked at St. Francis Hospital and the Iowa Ordnance Plant, where she met William Henry Daves, a native of Oklahoma. They were married Nov. 11, 1951, at St. Patrick Church in Burlington with Father Gerald Hoenig presiding. Their marriage of 31 years was blessed with four children. Margaret later earned a nursing degree and worked at Mercy Hospital, the office of Dr. Gibbs and Burlington Medical Center. She also worked in area nursing homes. After Bill retired they traveled the U.S. and Canada for a time, and then settled in Port Aransas, Texas. They loved the warm winters and going fishing off the island. Summers were spent with family in Iowa. Bill passed away in Texas on March 31, 1985. Margaret spent the summer in Iowa and retuned to Texas, working at Coastal Bend Hospital and Aransas Pass nursing home. She later made her home with her daughter, Margaret Ann, in Rockport, Texas, where she was cared for until her passing.

She is survived by daughters Margaret Ann Daves of Rockport, Texas; Mary Kathleen (Samuel) McCartney of rural Blakesburg, Iowa; and a son, William Henry (Maria) Daves II of Zaragoza, Spain.She was the proud grandmother of Rick Lee (Angela) McCartney of Rutherfordton, N.C.; Mary Ellen (John) Gillin of Hooper Bay, Alaska; and Melissa Margaret (David) Daves Apolo of Zaragoza, Spain.

Margaret was preceded in death by her husband; her youngest child, John Anthony Daves, in 1995; her parents; a sister, Evelyn (Ray) Luckenbill; and four brothers, Joseph, James Sherman, John Anthony and William Howe.

Funeral Mass will be at 9 a.m. Friday May 22, 2009, at St. Patrick Catholic Church, Ottumwa, Iowa; Father John Spiegel presiding. A time of fellowship will follow in the church hall.

Published in the Ottumwa Daily Courier from 5/20/2009 - 5/22/2009