Betty Ruth Pickel 1936-2007

PICKEL, WILLINGHAM, WARDEN

Posted By: Connie Swearingen (email)
Date: 5/24/2008 at 04:16:57

Sioux City Journal
13 July 2007

Betty Ruth Pickel
MAPLETON, Iowa -- Betty Ruth (Willingham) Pickel, 70, beloved wife of Ben Pickel, of Mapleton died Friday, July 6, 2007, at a Sioux City hospital.

Memorial services will be 11 a.m. Saturday at St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Mapleton, with the Rev. Dr. Scott Fiege officiating. Burial will be at a later date in Morgan Cemetery, Schleswig, Iowa. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service Saturday at the church. Arrangements are under the direction of Armstrong Funeral Home in Mapleton.

Betty was born Dec. 31, 1936, in Gulfport, Miss., to Thaddeus and Larlie (Warden) Willingham. She lost her parents at a very young age and was raised by an older half sister in Wiggins, Miss. As a young teenager, her sister, Carolyn, then took care of her.

In Feb. 28, 1953, she married Ben at St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Gulfport, Miss. In 1954, upon completion of Ben's tour with the U.S. Air Force, they moved to Schleswig, Iowa, to farm. From Schleswig to Ida Grove, to Sac City, Iowa, she continued to be involved with Ben's work, while raising their four children. In January 1980, they moved to Mapleton.

She enjoyed being a mom, a grandma and a great-grandma. Once her own four children were raised and gone, she continued to be a full-time homemaker by raising a grandson, Steven and up until the present, was raising a great-grandson, Jon.

She was a member of St. Matthew Lutheran Church. She involved herself with the church through teaching Sunday School and catechism. She was an accomplished seamstress. While her daughters were young and growing, she made most of their clothes. She ensured all of her daughter's dolls and bears were kept in a variety of outfits. She also enjoyed crafting, cross-stitch, quilting, camping, along with her love to be in the garden.

She is survived by her husband of 54 years, Ben Pickel of Mapleton; a son, Douglas Pickel of Duluth, Minn.; a daughter and her husband, Debbie and Mark Strohm of Duluth, Minn.; a daughter and her husband, Diann and Russ Dealy of Kansas City, Mo.; a daughter, Donna Shaw of Mapleton. She was blessed with nine grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; two sisters, Carolyn Bishop of Hot Springs, Ark., and Laura Reed of Hanover, Mich.; and many nieces, nephews and friends.

She was preceded in death by five siblings, Willis Willingham of Oklahoma, Mary Tadlock, Jean Dodge, Clyde Willingham and Bill Willingham, all of Mississippi.

Memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society, marked for further research in Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (NHL).

Monona Obituaries maintained by Linda Ziemann.
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