Margaret Jane McNeill 1914-2007

MCNEILL, HUBBARD

Posted By: Connie Swearingen (email)
Date: 5/24/2008 at 21:39:59

Sioux City Journal
8 September 2007

Margaret Jane McNeill
ONAWA, Iowa -- Jane McNeill, 92, of Onawa passed away Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007, at Elmwood Care Centre in Onawa, after a long and fruitful life.

Services will be 11 a.m. Tuesday at Rush Family Chapel in Onawa, with Pastor Don Collison officiating. Burial will be in Onawa Cemetery. Visitation will be 5 to 8 p.m. Monday at the funeral home.

Margaret Jane McNeill was born Nov. 19, 1914, in Onawa, the daughter of Alfred Earl and Annie Amelia (Hubbard) McNeill. Jane graduated from Onawa High School in 1931, and later graduated from the University of Iowa in 1937. She took a two-year break during college to teach at Ashton Township School, which she treasured as one of her better learning experiences. Following her college graduation, she taught in the State School at Glenwood, Iowa, and then at LaGrange, Ill.

In 1939, she returned to Iowa to work for the Iowa Department of Social Services in Fremont and Pottawattamie Counties. In 1942, she was a field representative for the American National Red Cross, Midwestern area. During her more than 30 years with the Red Cross, she traveled from Mississippi to Montana, with a large portion of time spent in Oklahoma.

Even though she technically retired from the Red Cross, she certainly didn't slow down. After her mother died in 1974, Jane was solely responsible for managing the family farm and volunteered in the development of the Monona County Historical Society and the Monona County Genealogical Society. Jane loved being involved in the community and had many friends. She was a great source of genealogy for any family in surrounding counties. She had a historian's memory of families and places in which no one was ever a stranger to her.

During her years at the farm, she had many special pet cats and one special dog. In 1984, Jane moved in town to an apartment and in 2003, moved to Elmwood Care Centre.

Survivors include a special cousin, Neal McNeill of Tulsa, Okla.; and many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents; and a brother and his wife, Park and Aileen (Gingles) McNeill.