Kellen, Elizabeth C. 1902-2005

KELLEN, STOLL, GOSCHEY

Posted By: Linda Ziemann, volunteer (email)
Date: 3/18/2009 at 12:52:26

ALTON, Iowa -- Elizabeth C. Kellen, 102, of Alton died Thursday, Jan. 13, 2005, at Happy Siesta Health Care Center in Remsen, Iowa following a brief illness.

Services will be 10:30 a.m. Monday at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Alton, with Monsignor Nicholas J. Ruba and the Revs. John Vakulskas, Timothy Johnson and Eugene Murray officiating. Burial will be in St. Mary's Cemetery. Visitation will be after 2 p.m. Sunday, with a St. Mary's Rosary Society rosary at 3 p.m. and a vigil prayer service at 7:30 p.m., all at the church.

Elizabeth was born Jan. 23, 1902, in rural Hospers, Iowa, the daughter of Henry and Mary (Goschey) Stoll. She was raised in the Hospers area and received her education at St. Anthony's Catholic School in Hospers. She then assisted her parents on the farm.

She married Aloysius W. Kellen on Feb. 12, 1924, at St. Anthony's Catholic Church in Hospers. They started farming in the Bancroft and Armstrong, Iowa, area. In 1927, they moved to a farm near Granville, Iowa. In 1938, they bought a farm southeast of Alton and lived there until they retired and moved into Alton in 1963. Al died Oct. 19, 1966 and she lived in her home until the age of 100. She resided a short while at Landsmeer Ridge Retirement Community in Orange City, Iowa, and had been a resident of Happy Siesta since Aug. 20, 2002.

She was a member of St. Mary's Catholic Church, the church Guild and St. Mary's Rosary Society. She spent many hours crocheting afghans for her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Survivors include a daughter and her husband, Agnes and Melvin Ruba of Remsen, Iowa; six sons and their wives, Louis and Lois Jean of Naperville, Ill., Lawrence and Doris of Le Mars, Iowa, Ambrose and Ann of Coldspring, Texas, Jerome and Perry and Joe and Liz, all of Alton and Arnold and Peggy of Antioch, Ill.; a daughter-in-law, Sandy Kellen of Ames, Iowa; a brother-in-law and his wife, Leo and Armella Kellen of Mankato, Minn.; 46 grandchildren; two stepgrandchildren; 104 great-grandchildren; 20 great-stepgrandchildren; four great-great-grandchildren; and seven great-great-stepgrandchildren.

She was preceded in death by a son, Daniel; a daughter and her husband, Dolores and Sylvester Hansen; two grandchildren, Steven Hansen and Pamela Kellen; six great-grandchildren, Eric and Jennifer Kellen, Cora and Cassandra Kellen, Elizabeth Ruba and Trey Wales; seven brothers, Simon, the Rev. Peter, Louis, Henry and infants John, Joseph and Leo; and two sisters, Philomena Stoll and Sophia Stoll.

Pallbearers will be Dale Hansen, Glenn, Jeff, Rick and Tom Kellen and Bob Ruba.

~Source: The Sioux City Journal
~Part of the Darrell E. Obituary Collection