Mary Myrtle Rhode Bricker (1964)

RHODE, BRICKER, JOHNSON, WROE, LEWIS, BYRNE, BREHENY, FAGEN, WEATHERLY

Posted By: Treva Patterson (email)
Date: 1/30/2007 at 15:03:09

Winterset Madisonian-Winterset, Iowa
August 1964

MARY MYRTLE BRICKER

Mary Myrtle Rhode, daughter of J. W. Rhode and Lida Johnson Rhode, was born in Van Buren, County, Iowa, March 13, 1876 and died in Oakland, California, August 20, 1964 at the age of 88 years, 5 months and 7 days.

In 1896 she came to Earlham where her grandfather, John Rhode was residing with his sister Meade Wroe. She taught school near Earlham for two years and June 15, 1898, she was married to George E.Bricker of Earlham. The wedding took place at the home of her parents in Fort Madison, Iowa.

They resided in Earlham for many years and operated the general store under the firm name of C. D. Bricker & Son.

In 1927 they moved to Des Moines where George had an insurance business until the time of his death.

To this union were born five children, two of whom preceded her in death, Elva Kathryn who died at the age of 9 months and George Dale who died in January 1964.

Surviving are three daughters, Cecile Lewis of Oakland, California, Mary Byrne of Earlham, Ruth Breheny of Des Moines, also a daughter-in-law, Georgia Bricker of Des Moines; sons-in-law, Robert Lewis, D. A. Byrne and Eddie Breheny; two grandchildren, Geo. D. Byrne of Pittsburgh, Penn. and Terence E. Byrne of Washington, D. C.; four great grandchildren, Elizabeth Mary, Margaret Ann and Stephen Alphonsus, children of Geo. D. Byrne and Laura Byrne and Patrick Edward, son of Terence E. Byrne and Sally Byrne; two nieces, Marie Fagen and Eleanor Flora; two nephews, Paul Weatherly and Howard Bricker; a sister-in-law Doris Bricker, numerous cousins and a host of friends.

After the death of her husband in 1941, she continued to reside in Des Moines until 1945 when she moved back to Earlham and lived her three years at which time she moved to Des Moines for a short time but soon left Iowa to make her home in Oakland, California. She made many friends in her new home and was very active in Grace Methodist church where she belonged at the time of her death.

She was a member of the Methodist church, the WSCS of Oakland Missionary Society, Rebekah Lodge, Three Link Club, Friendly Circle, Chautauqua Club, Sorosis Club of Earlham, the Gideons and Townsend Club of Des Moines.

Funeral services were conducted in Grace Methodist Church, Oakland on Saturday morning and in Earlham Methodist church Tuesday afternoon. Burial was in Earlham cemetery.