Jeannette (Duff) Alexander (1928)

ALEXANDER, DUFF, ADDY

Posted By: Treva Patterson (email)
Date: 8/25/2007 at 17:26:53

Winterset Madisonian-Winterset, Iowa
January 17, 1929; p. 3

Mrs. Luther Alexander

Jeanette Duff, daughter of William and Margaret Duff, was born in Guernsey county, Ohio, March 16, 1862. In her early girlhood she came with her parents to Madison county, Iowa, living in Winterset and later near Pitzer. In early life she accepted Christ and became a member of the United Presbyterian church, always giving earnest consecration to the Master's service. She became a teacher and to the profession she gave her best talent and most of the years of her life.

About 1894 her parents moved to Dexter. In addition to her duties as teacher in the public schools of Dexter for several years, she gave her parents every care in their declining years.

She was married in Dexter to Luther Alexander, December 30, 1896, a short time before her father's death. They soon moved to Earlham where her husband was already well established in the local meat market and built a new home. There their only child, Ernest, was born. Again she entered her profession, this time in the school of Earlham. She united with the Presbyterian church here where she and her husband were loyal to its obligations.

About twenty years ago they sold their Earlham property and moved to Stuart, where she taught at Dale, until she was called home.

Mr. Alexander had been failing in health for two years and was taken to the hospital at Guthrie Center the last week for better care. He died two days later, December 27, 1928. Mrs. Alexander, who for so many years had united her home responsibilities with her teaching, was home during the holiday vacation, only to fall a victim of the dreaded pneumonia. On December 30th, four days after her husband's death, her summons came in the midst of life's activities, the summons to lay down life's burdens and responsibilities and enter into its reward.

Life's relationship: daughter, wife, Christian, teacher, mother, neighbor and friend, all have been met with a quick understanding, ready sympathy, broad vision, strong faith and an untiring devotion that have been an inspiration to those who knew her. Perhaps more will remember her as one said, "The best teacher I ever had."

She is survived by her son, Ernest Alexander of Des Moines; four brothers, Henry Duff of Montana, Frank Duff of California; James Duff of Chicago and Dave Duff of Des Moines; and one sister, Ella Addy of Ohio.

Funeral services were held at the Presbyterian church at Dexter, Wednesday afternoon with the Rev. Cutler of the Congregational church of Stuart officiating. Interment was made in the Dexter cemetery.