Sparks, Margaret – 1917-2009

AYERSMAN, BEYER, MIKESELL, SPARKS, TOUGH, VERSTEEGH, WALTHER, WILLEMSEN

Posted By: JCGS Volunteer
Date: 7/1/2009 at 19:46:55

Margaret Sparks, 91, of Newton died Tuesday, June 23, 2009, at Hospice of Jasper County Monarch Wing in Newton.
Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 27, at the Wallace Family Funeral Home with the Rev. Marvin Potter officiating. The family will greet friends from 10 a.m. until the time of service on Saturday at the funeral home. Burial will be in the Newton Union Cemetery.
Memorials to Hospice of Jasper County may be left at the funeral home.
The daughter of Guert and Hattie (Versteegh) Beyer, she was born on Nov. 29, 1917, in rural Taintor. She grew up in rural Jasper and Poweshiek counties. She was united in marriage to Wayne Sparks on March 9, 1946, in Jasper County. After they married, they made their home in Newton.
Margaret was a graduate and valedictorian of her class at Searsboro High School and later she graduated from Business College in Oskaloosa. She was a teller and worked in the posting department at Jasper County Bank from 1945 until she retired in 1977. After retiring she still worked at the bank part-time. She was a charter member of the ABWA and was awarded the Business Woman of the Year. She was a past member of the United Presbyterian Church.
Survivors include one daughter, Hattie (Bob) Walther of Eldora; two grandchildren, Michelle Tough and Shawn Tough, both of Des Moines; three step-grandchildren, Mike Ayersman, Brian Ayersman and Sue Ayersman Mikesell, all of Des Moines; 16 great-grandchildren; one great-great-granchild; and two brothers, Lester Beyer of Montezuma and Earl (Jerri) Beyer of Grinnell.
Margaret was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Wayne Sparks; son, Ron Sparks; four brothers, Richard, Dale, Glen and Melvin Beyer; and a sister, Helen Beyer Willemsen.
Source: Newton Daily News; Wednesday, June 24, 2009