Greta Elizabeth Reynolds (Hoak)

REYNOLDS, HOAK, LOONEY

Posted By: Sarah Fletcher (email)
Date: 9/19/2019 at 12:21:22

Greta Elizabeth Reynolds (Hoak), age 63, died unexpectedly but peacefully in the early hours of September 11, 2019 at her home in Iowa City, Iowa.

A funeral service will be held Saturday, September 21, 2019 at 1:00 p.m. at Parkview Church, 15 Foster Road, Iowa City, where the family will greet friends on Friday, September 20, 2019 at from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. Private family burial will be at Oak Hill Cemetery in Coralville at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be directed to the family to be distributed to organizations that support music education in the Iowa City Community School District.

Greta was born Greta Elizabeth Hoak on August 19, 1956, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to Dorothy Hoak
and Dr. John Hoak, whose work at UIHC brought the family to Iowa City in 1964. She graduated from West High School in 1974 and earned a B.A. in music from the University of Iowa in 1977. This was followed by a long career in music education in the Iowa City public schools, in addition to a large group of private students. She also started and developed the orchestra program at Regina. As an educator of thousands of children and adults, Greta will be remembered for her affirming, skilled, and patient manner that led students to thrive under her guidance. Greta was herself an excellent musician and composer, primarily playing the violin and viola in numerous local and regional symphonies. Most recently she was a member of the Southeast Iowa Symphony.

Apart from her musical career, Greta was committed to serving others in many creative realms. She started the Teddy Bear Bakery, and spent numerous hours making everything from cutout cookies to towering wedding cakes. These customers inevitably became her friends. Having endured two divorces and a spousal death, she counseled many others as they processed their own grief in classes she led through Parkview Church. She was constantly seeking to build friendships with people who were different from her and maintained strong ties with friends from diverse backgrounds and nationalities. Over the last ten years, Greta committed herself to providing compassionate care for her aging parents.
Surpassing all else was Greta’s dedication to her Savior, Jesus. In Jesus, Greta found peace to weather her personal challenges and grace to live with selfless love. The love she had for Jesus fueled her ministry to others, where she used her musical talents, counseled with the church care team, and traveled internationally with trips to ease poverty and fight human trafficking. Greta’s passion was to see the impact of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection in the lives of everyone around her.

Greta is survived by her mother, Dorothy Hoak, of Hills, Iowa, her sister, Laurinda Looney, and her brother, Thomas Hoak of Littleton, Colorado. Additionally, she is survived by her daughter Elke (Joe) Hanson and grandchildren David and Eleanor, of DeWitt, Iowa, and son Thomas (Katie) Hoak and grandson Jack of Iowa City, Iowa.

Greta was preceded in death by her husband, Allen Fasbender, her father, John Charles Hoak, and two canine friends, Lily and Max.

Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service
 

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