Marjorie Elizabeth (Courtney) THOMAS GRABBE

GRABBE, THOMAS, COURTNEY, HARTY, BARDSLEY, BEEMER, KAYSER, BRAGA, JEROME, SIMON

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 4/19/2008 at 21:06:15

August 16, 1913 --- April 15, 2008

Marjorie Elizabeth Thomas Grabbe, 94, of Hampton, Iowa, died Tuesday, April 15, 2008, at the Franklin General Hospital Nursing Facility in Hampton. She was born Aug. 16, 1913, in Meservey, Iowa, to James P. and Ida M. (Braga) Courtney. She graduated from Dows Public School System in 1932 and then from Iowa State Teachers’ College in Cedar Falls in 1934.

She married Joseph “Mac” Thomas March 16, 1934, in Albert Lea, Minn., and they farmed near Rowan and Dows, Iowa, until they retired and moved to their home on Baby Lake near Hackensack. “Mac” died Feb. 17, 1967. She then married Fred “Fritz” Grabbe Dec. 12, 1969, in Walker, Minn., and they lived in Hampton and Hackensack until he died in 1983.

In her early years, she worked as a teacher in rural schools around Dows and later became a homemaker raising four children. She was a member of St. Patrick’s Church, Sacred Heart Church in Hackensack, the “V” Club, the Hampton Area Child Development Club, ISTC Alumni Organization, Book and Thimble Club of Hackensack, Hampton Historical Society, Card Club and the Farm Bureau. She enjoyed playing cards, attending sporting events, reading and spending time with family and friends.

She is survived by two daughters, Cheryll Kayser of Agency, and Linda (Joseph) Jerome of Fort Dodge; two sons-in-law, Richard Harty of Mason City and Daniel Simon of Parkersburg; 12 grandchildren; three step-grandchildren; 17-great-grandchildren; five step-great-grandchildren; several nieces and nephews; and numerous other relatives. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husbands; two daughters, Patricia Harty and Jane Simon; one sister, Vivian Bardsley; one brother, Rodney Courtney; two stepchildren, Earl Grabbe and Phyllis Beemer; and one son-in-law, George Kayser.

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HAMPTON - Marjorie Elizabeth Thomas Grabbe, 94, of Hampton, died Tuesday (April 15, 2008) at the Franklin General Hospital Nursing Facility in Hampton. Funeral services will be 10 a.m. Friday, April 18, at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Hampton. Burial will be in the St. Francis Xavier Cemetery in Belmond. Father Bernard Grady will be officiating. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, April 17, at Sietsema-Vogel Funeral Home in Hampton. Sietsema-Vogel Funeral Home.

Mason City Globe Gazette
April 16, 2008