Jennie Lucille (Pullen) Simmering (1916-2013)

SIMMERING, PULLEN, CUNNINGHAM, WADSLEY, ANDERSON, LUNDEEN, BIANCONI, SCHWALJE

Posted By: Mark Christian
Date: 3/9/2013 at 18:46:06

From Adams & Soderstrum Funeral Home obituary, Story County, Iowa:

Obituary for Lucille Simmering

Jennie Lucille Pullen Simmering was born February 24, 1916, on a farm near Early, Iowa, the fifth child of Charles Augustus and Clotilda (Cloie) Cunningham Pullen. She was nicknamed “Li’l Cil” by her siblings who had a hard time pronouncing “Lucille.” When she was two, her father died in the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic and the family moved close to his brothers in Spencer. After five years, they returned to a farm near Early where Lucille attended country school, taught by her older sister, Marjorie. She graduated from Early High School in 1933.

After graduation, Lucille and her mother moved to Ames where her mother kept a boarding house. Lucille studied home economics at Iowa State College and met one of the boarders, Lawrence F. Simmering. On June 23, 1937, she and Lawrence were married in her sister Marjorie’s home at Odebolt, Iowa. To this union, three children were born: Richard Alan, Rebecca Sue, and Thomas Jon.

Lawrence was a career educator, the first year in Sac City and then the Ames public schools from 1939 until his retirement. While he served in the Navy during World War II, Lucille maintained the family. Throughout her life, Lucille was an active member of Bethesda Lutheran Church, serving in numerous capacities. She also volunteered at Mary Greeley Hospital and with many other civic organizations. At home, she masterfully created beautiful needlepoint pictures, read biographies avidly, and belonged to at least three bridge clubs. Most of all, she was a great mother, grandmother, and friend to many. Lucille and Lawrence traveled extensively, particularly after retirement, visiting all fifty states and a number of nations abroad.

Lucille moved to Timberland Village in Story City, Iowa, where she resided for nine years following Lawrence’s death. There, she passed away on Monday, February 25, 2013. She was preceded in death by her husband Lawrence, her son Tom, her parents, her sister Marjorie Wadsley, and her brothers Charles, Harold, and Floyd. Those left to cherish her memory include her son Richard, daughter Rebecca (Wayne) Anderson, and daughter-in-law JoEllen Simmering; eight grandchildren: Angela Beth and Tricia Ann Simmering; Aaron Andrew, Nathan Jon (Gaye), and Joel Phillip Lundeen, and Rachel Anne (Brad) Bianconi; Lesley Rebecca (Bill) Schwalje and Otto Jon (Roseann) Simmering; and seven great-grandchildren.

Memorials in Lucille’s honor may be directed to Timberland Village, 725 Timberland Drive, Story City, IA 50248-8772, and Autism Speaks at autismspeaks.org.

MAR 2 Funeral Service
Timberland Village
725 Timberland Drive
Story City, IA, US, 50248

Cemetery Details
Ames Municipal Cemetery
Duff Ave at 9th Street
Ames, IA, 50010

http://www.adamssoderstrum.com/
 

Story Obituaries maintained by Mark Christian.
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