Iola Mae (Keeton) FERRELL SCHARFENBERG

SCHARFENBERG, NICKELL, KEETON, FERRELL, SIMPSON, WOOD, BOYINGTON, MIZE, DAVIDSON, HOWARD

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 1/22/2007 at 23:25:56

Mason City Globe Gazette
January 11, 2004

HARDY - Iola Mae "Mike" Scharfenberg, 69, of Hardy, died Friday (Jan. 9, 2004) at her home after a courageous battle against cancer. Her funeral will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at the United Methodist Church in Renwick with the Rev. Karen Groe-Dearchs presiding. Burial will be in the Vernon Cemetery, rural Renwick. Visitation will be from 9 a.m. until service time at the church.
Memorials may be directed to the United Methodist Church in Renwick, and to the American Cancer Society.

Mike was born on Aug. 17, 1934, the daughter of John and Peg (Nickell) Keeton in Lovilia, Iowa. The family moved to the Goldfield area when she was a young girl, and she graduated from the Goldfield High School in 1952. Following graduation, she went on to receive a diploma in cosmetology from the Iowa School of Beauty in Des Moines. Mike was united in marriage to Donald Duane Ferrell on Feb. 24, 1954. They raised their family in the Eagle Grove area and later divorced. In 1980, she married Dennis W. Scharfenberg at the United Church of Christ in Eagle Grove. In 1986, Mike and Denny moved to Hardy, where they bought and operated the "Try It" cafe for the next 13 years. After countless pots of coffee and plates of biscuits and gravy, Mike retired from the cafe in 1999. Mike was an active member of the United Methodist Church in Renwick and served as a communion steward. She was elected to the Hardy City Council and served as the city clerk for many years. In her earliest years, Mike was an avid bowler, gardener and seamstress. Mike was truly an inspiration to her family and friends when facing any sort of ad-versity. She was loved and admired for her strength and courage she demonstrated throughout her lifetime when dealing with life's "unexpected" surprises.

Those left to cherish her memory are her husband, Denny, of Hardy; her daughters, Deb Simpson, of Mason City, and Brenda (Ron) Wood, of Renwick; her sons, J.R. (Mary) Ferrell, of Burnsville, Minn., and Tom Boyington, of Avon, Ind; a step-daughter, Tammy Mize, of Tucson, Ariz.; seven grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and two step-grandchildren; her mother, Peg Keeton, of Hardy; a brother, Bryan Keeton, of Iowa City; sister-in-law, Janette (Gary) Davidson, of DeSota, Texas, and several very special aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews. Preceding her in death were her father, John Keeton; son, Vic Ferrell; sister, Karen Howard, and brother-in-law, Larry Howard. Foust Funeral Home, Eagle Grove, is in charge of arrangements, (515) 448-3674.