MALLERY, Alda D. 1927-2005

MALLERY, ASK, SYNSBY

Posted By: County Coordinator
Date: 2/28/2009 at 12:41:18

Alda D. Mallery

RUDD, IOWA — Alda D. Mallery, 77, of Rudd, passed Sunday (July 10, 2005) at the Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa, in Mason City, after an extended illness.

A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Rudd United Methodist Church, 611 Sixth St. in Rudd, with the Rev. Wendy Johannesen, of Rudd United Methodist Church, and the Rev. William Poland of Wesley United Methodist Church, Mason City, officiating.

Inurnment will be at the Evergreen Cemetery, Rudd.

Sheckler Colonial Chapel, 114 N. Hawkeye, Nora Springs is in charge of the arrangements.

Alda was born Aug. 25, 1927, to Lottie (Ask) and Thorvald Synsby, at home in Rock Township, Mitchell County, Iowa. She attended grade school at Rock Township School No. 3 in Mitchell County, and graduated from St. Ansgar High School in 1944.

After graduation, Alda worked at Johnson's Heating and Plumbing in Osage for a short time. She then moved to Mason City and worked for the telephone company.

Alda met her husband, Donovan Mallery, in 1949, at a dance in Rudd. They were married on Sept. 23, 1951, at the Little Brown Church in Nashua, Iowa. At that time Don was serving in the U.S. Army. After a brief honeymoon, they moved to Kentucky, where he was stationed. After a few months, Don was transferred overseas to serve in the Korean War, and Alda returned home and lived with her parents until his return in 1953.

They lived on a farm just outside of Rudd for the next 50-plus years, where they did grain farming and raised livestock. During those years, Alda worked at Hoover's Hatchery in Rudd, at the Rudd Elementary/ Junior High as a cook, and then at the Nora Springs Care Center as an aide, cook, and in housekeeping. She retired in 1989.

They had four daughters, Jodee, Lynette, Jill, and Dawn, between 1954 and 1962.

Alda was active in the Rudd United Methodist Church. She always put the needs of others first. She volunteered on many local committees and helped with many Rudd events.

Alda's many interests included making latch-hook rugs and quilts. She also enjoyed vegetable and flower gardening and reading. Attending auctions was also one of her passions. Spending time with her eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, was one of the highlights of her life. She had a special dedication and determination in all her pursuits.

She is survived by her husband, Donovan, of Rudd; their four daughters and their children, Jodee Gentile, and her husband, Art, and their children, Ann and Amy, of Salida, Colo.; Lynette Harrington, and her husband, Steve, and their children, Ashley and April, of Mason City; Jill Dolphin, and her children, Jeremy and his fiancée, Katie Lattimer, Jessica and Janessa, of Olathe, Kan.; and Dawn Lynch, and her husband Stephen, and their daughter, Amber, of New Canaan, Conn.; and three great-grandchildren.

She is also survived by a sister, Doris Colley, of Ridgeway; two sisters-in-law, Delores Muller, of Rockford; and Maxine Vance, and her husband, Dale, of Floyd; and many nieces and nephews.

She will be dearly loved by many, and will be greatly missed.

She is preceded in death by her parents; three brothers-in-law, Forrest Muller, Les Shelley, and Orland "Bud" Cooley; one sister-in-law, Eunice Shelley; and one son-in-law, George Dolphin.

Sheckler Colonial Chapel, (641) 749-2210 - www.colonialchapels.com.

[Globe Gazette]