Forde, Agnes (Keefe) -- 1917 - 2009

KEEFE, FORDE

Posted By: Shawn Hughes (email)
Date: 2/14/2010 at 12:31:06

Agnes Forde

Agnes "Aggie" Forde, age 92, of Decorah, Iowa, died on Wednesday, December 16, 2009, at the Winneshiek Medical Center in Decorah, Iowa.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, December 19, 2009, at the First Lutheran Church in Decorah, Iowa, with Rev. Marion Pruitt-Jefferson presiding. Burial will be in the Big Canoe Cemetery, rural Decorah, Iowa

Friends may call from 3:00-7:00 p.m. on Friday at the Schluter – Balik Funeral Home in Decorah, and also after 10:00 a.m. at the church on Saturday morning.

Ruth Agnes Forde was born on March 15, 1917, the daughter of Richard and Grace (Headington) Keefe, in Winneshiek County. She attended rural schools and developed a love of family, nature, animals, friends, dancing, and true to her Irish roots, a wonderful sense of humor. In 1942, she married Gerhard Forde, at the Big Canoe Lutheran Parsonage near Highlandville. Agnes spent many years working at the Decorah Greenhouse and also at the Norwegian Historical Museum. During those years, she formed countless friendships that brought her great joy. Her friends enhanced her life in many ways; whether it was a trip to Ireland or Norway, helping her with her flower garden, dancing a slow waltz at Highlandville, watching a baseball game together or just sitting visiting on her front porch. She was a member of the First Lutheran Church, the Vesterheim and the Porch Sitters Local #205. Throughout her life, she was especially fond of her nieces and nephews. And they, in turn, responded in her later years with exceptional thoughtfulness and kindness.

Agnes is survived by her children: Martha (Neil) Ricklefs, Chandler, AZ; Barbara (Gary Heck) Forde, Des Moines, IA; and Kent (Pam) Forde, DeSoto, MO. Her grandchildren: Adam and John Ricklefs, Chelsea Adams and Kelli Forde; and her cherished nieces, nephews and friends that she always thought of as part of her family.

Agnes was preceded in death by her husband: Gerhard in 1975. Two brothers: Leonard Keefe and Lester Keefe. Three sisters: Katherine Keefe, Hattie Juve and Ellen Berge

Schluter-Balik Funeral Home Website