Verlene Mary (Dow) Mangels (1928-2008)
MANGELS, DOW, VOLK, GILLILAND, HESSICK
Posted By: Ames Tribune
Date: 3/8/2008 at 13:10:35
THE AMES TRIBUNE, Ames, Story County, Iowa, Friday, March 7, 2008.
Aug. 28, 1928-March 6, 2008
Verlene Mary (Dow) Mangels died Thursday, March 6, at Arbor Springs in West Des Moines. Services will be at 2 p.m. Monday, March 10, at St. John's Episcopal Church in Ames, with the Rev. Al Aiton officiating. Burial will be in Ames Municipal Cemetery.
A gathering of family and friends will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Sunday, March 9, at Grandon Funeral and Cremation Care, 414 Lincoln Way, in Ames.
Verlene Mary (Dow) Mangels was born Aug. 28, 1928, in Greeley. She was one of five children born to Huse and Esther Dow. The family moved to Iowa City in 1943. She graduated from Iowa City High School in May 1945 and began work at a local insurance agency, further education being out of the question due to her father's sudden death in 1944. She joined the staff of the Iowa City Chamber of Commerce in 1946 and worked there until 1953.
In 1953, she married 2nd Lt. Donald K. Mangels in Santa Maria, Calif. She had met Don in Iowa City while he was a student there. For the next 24 years, Verlene accompanied Don as he moved from base to base during his Air Force career. They lived in Japan, Washington, California, Arizona, Puerto Rico, New Mexico, Washington, D.C., Oklahoma and Colorado.
She was a full-time mother and homemaker, but was active in PTA, Officer's Wives Club and bridge groups. At several different locations, she was instrumental in organizing gourmet groups, including the one started by the Iowa State University Faculty Wives Club.
In 1974, she and her family moved to Ames, where her husband had been assigned commander of the Air Force ROTC program. In 1977, upon his retirement from active duty, the decision was made to make Ames their permanent home. She began work at a local travel agency. She retired in 1992, shortly before Don retired from a local bank.
Since making their home in Ames, Verlene and Don traveled extensively. They took cruises to the Baltic, Black Sea, Society Islands and the Mediterranean plus many trips to the Caribbean. They also extensively toured the continental United States and Canada.
She is survived by three children, Kristen Lee Mangels (Murray Buchheit), of Ames, Lisa Ann (Patrick) Volk, of Champaign, Ill., and Eric Donald (Julie) Mangels, of Ankeny; five grandchildren, Ashley, Austin, Nathan, Anthony and Alex; two sisters, Vivian Gilliland and Verona (Howard) Hessick; one brother, Verne (Joanne) Dow; sister-in-law, Arlene Dow; and numerous nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her husband; her parents; an infant daughter; and one brother, Victor Robert Dow.
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