Darlene Rachel Smith, 13 Sept 1932 - 01 Mar 2018

SMITH, KOEHN, SCHAFBUCH, KEYSER, SEAGROATT, HEINE, HOUSE, FRANKE, VERBLE, GOAD, MALCOMB, HERGENRETER, KEYSER, HEINE, READ, WALLACE

Posted By: Sandy Ficken (email)
Date: 3/15/2018 at 13:34:10

Funeral service for Darlene R. Smith, 85, Loveland, Colo., formerly of Victor, will be held at 10:30 a.m., Thursday, March 8, at St. James Lutheran Church, Victor. She died Thursday, March 1, 2018, at Good Samaritan Village, Loveland.

Pastor Michael Kolesar will officiate at the service. A luncheon will follow the funeral service at the church.

Interment will be in Hazelwood Cemetery, Grinnell.

Visitation will begin at 2 p.m. Wednesday, March 7, at Smith Funeral Home, Grinnell, and the family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m.

Memorials may be designated to St. James Lutheran Church, Victor, and mailed in care of the Smith Funeral Home, P.O. Box 368, Grinnell, Iowa 50112.

Memories and condolences may be shared with Darlene’s family online at www.smithfh.com.

Darlene Rachel (Koehn) Smith was born at home on Sept. 13, 1932, in Victor, the daughter of Louis and Esther Koehn. She was baptized Oct. 9, 1932, at St. James Lutheran Church, Victor. Her godparents were the Arnold Koehns. On June 9, 1946, she was confirmed into the Christian faith at St. James, with the confirmation verse of John 10:27-28. She attended Victor public schools, where she was active in basketball and music, graduating in 1950 as salutatorian. From 1950-52 she attended the American Institute of Commerce in Davenport and the American Institute of Business in Des Moines, subsequently working as an insurance secretary at Employers’ Mutual/Des Moines, Iowa National Mutual/Cedar Rapids, and Employers’ Mutual Casualty/Minneapolis, Minn., before starting a family.

On Nov. 26, 1955, Darlene married Orville Eugene (“Gene”) Smith of Grinnell at St. James Lutheran Church, Victor. The couple moved to Minneapolis, where he was a student at the University of Minnesota, and a daughter, Melinda, was born. Gene soon joined the family business, Smith Funeral Home, Grinnell, and four more children were born: Marcy, Brian, Martha, and Maria. In 1969 the family relocated to Colorado, where the youngest daughter, Michelle, was born.

The couple were active members at Rock of Ages Lutheran Church and later on, Redeemer Lutheran in Colorado Springs. Living in the Pikes Peak vicinity for many years, they finally retired to Grand Junction, Colo., near to daughter Maria, where they joined Messiah Lutheran Church. After Gene’s death in 2003, Darlene eventually relocated to northern Colorado near daughter Michelle. At the time of her passing, Darlene resided at the Good Samaritan Village in Loveland and was affiliated with Gloria Christi Lutheran Church in Greeley, Colo.

Darlene’s life was that of a busy mother of six. She was a lifelong Lutheran who shared an interest in music with her husband, Gene, and oft accompanied him on airplane and camping trips. Those who knew her remember her as a faithful friend and avid correspondent prior to her demise.

Darlene is survived by her daughters and their husbands, Melinda Heine, Colorado Springs,Colo.; Marcy and Jeff Keyser, Colorado Springs, Colo.; Martha and Matthew Franke, San Antonio, Texas; Maria and David Verble, Montrose, Colo., and Michelle and John Goad, rural Windsor, Colo.; 14 grandchildren and was blessed to watch many of them grow to adulthood and marry, Katherine (Dylan) Malcomb, Jennifer (Gabriel) Hergenreter, Jonathan (Emma) Keyser, Sarah (Thomas) Seagroatt, Karl (Stanzie) Heine, Micah Franke, Susan Heine, Cierra (Cory) House, Joshua (Kathryn) Franke, Brianna Verble, Jacob Franke, Grace Goad, Rachel Franke, and Samuel Goad; a growing number of great-grandchildren, Emilia, Aria, Myra and Viera Malcomb; Lily and Grant Hergenreter; Elleanor, Jack, and Annabelle Keyser; Arthur Heine; Eli House; and Hugh Franke; her beloved brother, Vernon Louis Koehn, Victor; her brother-in-law, Robert Dale Smith, Cottage Grove, Ore.; and other cousins, nieces and nephews, and dear friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Esther Lela (Schafbuch) Koehn and Louis Elsa Koehn; her husband, Gene; her son, Brian; two sisters-in-law, Kae (Read) Koehn and Elizabeth “Bette” (Wallace) Smith, and son-in-law William Heine.

The Journal Tribune 07 Mar 2018, pg 4
Also published in The Warrior Tribune, 07 Mar 2018