Shafer, Marian Ruth (Koenig) 1928 - 2021

SHAFER, KOENIG, SCHROEDER, SARELSON, EVANS, HENNING, LONGERBEAM

Posted By: Joy Moore (email)
Date: 1/7/2022 at 12:38:22

Marian Shafer, 93, formally of Waukon, IA, but now living with her daughter in Clifton, VA, passed away December 24, 2021, of a heart attack at Fairfax Hospital in Fairfax, VA. Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, January 11, 2022, at 1:00 PM at Salem United Church of Christ in rural Waukon with Pastor Sue Klimstra officiating. Friends may greet the family one hour before services on Tuesday at the church. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Masks are required. The service will also be live streamed on Martin-Grau Funeral Home’s facebook page. Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon, IA, is handling arrangements.

Marian Ruth Shafer was born on October 28, 1928, on the rural farm of her parents William and Emma (Schroeder) Koenig near Castalia, IA. She was baptized at Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church and confirmed in 1942 by Rev. Frederick Ludwig in Postville, IA. She remained a member until joining Salem United Church of Christ in 1952, where she belonged to the Salem Women’s Fellowship. She attended Oak Hill School in Winneshiek County and graduated from Postville High School in 1946.

On January 22, 1947, Marian married Ray Shafer at the Little Brown Church in Nashua, IA; to the union, a daughter Mary Rae was born. Marian loved farming side by side with Ray on their farm six miles west of Waukon, living there for 57 years before moving into Waukon in 2005. She enjoyed all the animals, gardening, picnics, boating, and traveling. Marian spent the holidays in Virginia with family and enjoyed her four great-grandchildren. This spring, she sold her house in Waukon and permanently moved to Virginia to live with her daughter Mary.

Survivors include her daughter Mary Rae (Mike) Sarelson of Clifton, VA; two grandchildren: Lisa (Mike) Evans and Lori (Chris Reed) Sarelson; four great-grandchildren: Kyla, Max, Brandon, and Cara; sister in-law Pat Koenig; and many nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband Ray in 2003; two sisters: Charlotte Henning and Chrystal Longerbeam; two brothers: Orville & Merlin Koenig; and two nephews: Mark and Randy Koenig.

Source: Martin Funeral Home database