Vivian Mary Hedges

HEDGES, COONEY, LEENEY, PETRAK, THORMANN, KRON, KALLAUS

Posted By: Tara (email)
Date: 3/2/2011 at 11:10:40

Vivian Mary Hedges, 93, died peacefully on Sunday, February 27, 2010 at Lantern Park Nursing & Rehab Center in Coralville. Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 am on Thursday, March 3 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Iowa City with Father John Spiegel officiating. Visitation will be from 4-7 pm on Wednesday, at Lensing Funeral Home in Iowa City, where a rosary will be recited at 4:30 pm. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be directed to St. Mary’s Catholic Church or to the Stroke Group at Mercy Hospital in Iowa City.
Vivian was born on January 13, 1918 in Oxford, IA, the daughter of James and Winifred (Cooney) Leeney. She spent her childhood in Oxford and graduated from Oxford High School. Shortly after graduating from high school, Vivian, at the request of her boyfriend Elmer Hedges, moved to Detroit, MI to work as a riveter for Chrysler Motor Corporation, or better known as a “Rosie the Riveter”. This was a tremendous job during the war and Vivian continued this work for nearly 8 years. On November 27, 1943, Vivian and Elmer Hedges were married in Detroit, MI and the couple later moved to Hammond, IN where they resided for 29 years, until moving back to Iowa City permanently.
Vivian was a fun loving lady who always had many activities and interests. She was a lifetime member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church, a member of the Catholic Order of Foresters and a longtime member of the VFW Post #7881 Ladies Auxillary. Vivian also spent countless hours volunteering for Mercy Hospital and was a member of the Stroke Group at Mercy. In her free time, she loved to spend time with her family, enjoyed playing cards and was an avid bowler.
Survivors include her loving sister Melva Petrak of Coralville, and multiple nieces, nephews and great-nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Elmer, and her three sisters Margie Thormann, Berniece Kron and Mary Kallaus.