Marcella "Sally" (Dykstra) Darling (2010)
DARLING, DYKSTRA, KIERNAN, NEWENDORP, SHOEMAKER, VAN ZANDBERGEN
Posted By: Shirley Keating
Date: 2/25/2010 at 20:06:46
Winterset Madisonian
Winterset, Iowa
Wednesday, February 24, 2010MARCELLA DARLING, WINTERSET, IOWA
Marcella “Sally” Darling, 87, died Saturday, Feb. 20, 2010, at West Bridge Care Center in Winterset following a courageously long battle with cancer.
Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, Feb. 26, at the First United Presbyterian Church, Winterset. A visitation will be held from 1–8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 25, at Ochiltree Funeral Service & Aftercare, with family present to receive friends from 5–7 p.m. Burial will be in the Winterset Cemetery with military honors performed by the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8142 and American Legion Post 184. Memorials may be directed to Middle River Hospice or the First United Presbyterian Church.
Sally was born Jan. 26, 1923, in Alton, Iowa, the daughter of Martin and Bertha (Van Zandbergen) Dykstra. She grew up in Alton and graduated as valedictorian of the Alton High School class of 1940. Sally later attended Drake University, where she met Gordon K. Darling. She married Gordon on Aug. 30, 1947, at the Presbyterian Church in Alton, and to this union two sons were born, Chip and Eric.
During World War II, Sally served in the United States Navy WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service). This service to country was something Sally was very proud of, and she often took pleasure in noting that she outranked her husband.
Following Gordon’s graduation from the Drake University Law School in 1950, the Darlings moved to Winterset, where they have lived since. Sally was a dedicated mother and homemaker, spending a majority of her time raising her sons. She also was an exceptional secretary, a skill she learned during her wartime service. For several years she worked as a secretary for Winterset High School and later for the Winterset High School library.
She was a member of the First United Presbyterian Church in Winterset, where she participated in many church activities. She also was a member of the American Legion and the Thursday Guild, and served as a board member of the Madison County Hospital. For many years she participated in the Lions Show, singing in a trio, as well as being involved with many other community activities and events.
Sally is survived by her two sons, Gordon “Chip” Darling Jr. and wife, Deb, of Winterset and Eric Darling and wife, Ellie, of Wauwatosa, Wis.; five grandchildren — Trevor, Lindsay, Nathan, Will and Kate; and a sister, Sylva Kiernan of Alton.
She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband and two sisters, Margaret Newendorp and Penny Shoemaker.
Gravesite
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