Mary Marlene (Rowe) Cranston, 26 Nov 1945 - 29 May 2021

CRANSTON, ROWE, CHENEY, HARRIS, STEELE, MASON, HUFF

Posted By: Sarah Witte (email)
Date: 6/10/2021 at 12:42:13

Marlene Cranston, 75, of Montezuma went home to be with Jesus May 29, 2021 at UnityPoint Grinnell Regional Medical Center six weeks after being admitted with Covid.

Funeral services were 2:00 pm on June 1, 2021 at the Community Hope Church in Montezuma. Burial was held in the Jackson Township Cemetery immediately following the service.
Following the burial, family and friends were invited to the Community Hope Fellowship Hall to celebrate the life of Marlene. Memorial contributions may be made to The RARE Group, a group dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation, and conservation of birds of prey throughout Iowa. Holland-Coble Funeral Home of Montezuma is in charge of arrangements.

Mary Marlene Cranston was born on November 26, 1945 in Sigourney, Iowa to Bill and Marjorie (Cheney) Rowe. She graduated from English Valleys Community School in 1965. On October 31, 1970 she was married to Jim Cranston at the Methodist Church in North English and they have one son together, Troy.

Marlene was a spectacular grandma, a talented artist, an excellent cook, a gardener, an avid bird watcher, a wreath crafter, a frugal shopper and coupon clipper, a Kalona donut and cheese collector, a “let’s run across the border to Wisconsin so I can get a hundred pounds of honeycrisp apples” apple connoisseur, a “let’s jaunt down to the Dutchman’s Store with the Cantril Girls” kind of gal, and she loved her chickens, even the roosters.

If you asked Marlene what her job was at Cranston Landscaping, she would tell you that she got stuck cleaning up the messes the guys made on the job and in the shop. She was forever sweeping out the endless dirt they tracked in on the cement floor. She loved working with her boys, and she would not have it any other way. Marlene cleaned houses for her long-term customers, and she cherished the relationships she built with them. We want to thank those customers for treating her like family as she loved them dearly.

Marlene was infamous for putting the needs of others first and thinking about her own needs last. She was humble and generous to a fault with those she loved. She was a loving mother, grandmother and wife, the matriarch of her family and the glue that held them all together.

Marlene’s legacy will be cherished by her husband of 50 years, Jim Cranston of Montezuma; her brothers Lynn Rowe, Rex Rowe and Ralph (Katy) Rowe of North English; her son Troy (Rachel) Cranston of Montezuma; her two grandchildren, Seth (Megan) Cranston of Deep River and Joel Cranston of Montezuma; her step-sons Pat Cranston of New Sharon and Scott Cranston of Mount Pleasant; her step-grandchildren Cambri (Aaron) Harris of Texas, Brad (Kari) Steele of Minnesota, Jamie Cranston of Grinnell, James Cranston of Knoxville and Brian Mason of New Sharon; and her eight great step-grandchildren.

Marlene was preceded in death by her parents Bill and Marjorie Rowe; her step-daughter Teri Ann Huff and her sister-in-law Becky Rowe.

Published in The Hometown Current on June 9, 2021.