Thomassen, Mae ((Plette)

THOMASSEN, PLETTE, LANGERAK, BROCKWAY

Posted By: volunteer (email)
Date: 7/18/2005 at 20:48:53

Funeral service for Mae Thomassen, 94, of Pella were held Tuesday, May 20 at the Second Reformed Church in Pella, the Rev. Steven Mathonnet-Vander Well, officiating. Music was provided by organist Dr. Davis Folkerts and soloist Thomas Waechter.

Interment was at the Oakwood Cemetery in Pella. Casket bearers were Timothy Brockway, Terry Brockway, Kimberly Baker, Christopher Baker, David Greving, Thom Greving, Paul Thomassen, Eric Thomassen.

Mae Labertha Plette was born on May 31, 1908 in Pella. She was the daughter of Evert (Ed) and Dirkie Langerak Plette. Mae attended the Pella Public Schools and graduated from Pella High School in 1925. Following her graduation, Mae enrolled at Central College in Pella where she attended for two years and continued her education, graduating from the University of Iowa in Iowa City in 1929 with a Secondary Teaching Degree in English and Speech/Drama. Mae began her teaching career at West Liberty where she taught in the high school for four years. She then taught for two years in Cherokee.

While living in Cherokee she was united in marriage with James Phillip Brockway at Marshall, Missouri. To this union two children were born: Lavelle Mae and Jack Edson. Mae continued her 20-year teaching career in Pella where she taught at Pella High School for four years and then was the 3rd grade teacher for nine years at Webster Elementary School.

Following her retirement in 1961, Mae was united in marriage with Harold Oscar Thomassen on October 7, 1961. His family consisted of his six children: Cora, Beverly, Jack, Bonnie, Gary and Neil Thomassen. Harold passed away in 1987.

She was a past president of the Westminster Presbyterian Association and the Legion Auxiliary in Denison. She had also served as the Vice-president of the Pella Community Teachers Club.

Mae was a former member of the First Reformed Church and presently a member of the Second Reformed Church in Pella where she sang in the choirs.

On Saturday morning, May 17 she passed away in the Pella Regional Health Center where she had been cared for in the Long Term Care Unit since September of 2000.

She is survived by two children and their spouses: Lavelle and William Wood of Castro Valley, California; Jack and Jeanie Brockway of Pella; four grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; and her nephew and niece and their spouses. Her late husband's family includes: Cora E. Thomassen of Pella; Beverly Schultz of Postville; Jack Thomassen of Pella; Bonnie Lautenbach of Larkspur, Colorado; Gary G. Thomassen of Lakeworth, Florida; and Neil R. Thomassen of Lakewood, Colorado; 19 grandchildren and 35 great-grandchildren. She was the last surviving member of her original family.

Mae was preceded in death by two granddaughters: Angel Wood and Tammy Brockway and a great-grandson, Terrance Brockway. She was preceded in death by her husband, Harold Thomassen; her parents, Evert and Dirkie Plette; and her two older sisters: Henrietta (Harold) Klein and Lucille (Earle) Kelley.

For those desiring, memorials may be designated for the Mary Evers Scholarship Fund, the Pella Historical Society or the Second Reformed Church of Pella, Iowa.

Funeral arrangements were handled by Van Dyk-Duven Funeral Home in Pella.

The Pella Chronicle, May 30, 2003