Mary Margaret (Elder) ALLBAUGH

ELDER, ALLBAUGH, KING, BURRELL, NABER

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 11/6/2008 at 12:21:51

Eagle Grove Eagle
November 5, 2008

Mary M. Allbaugh, 89, teacher, community volunteer

Mary Margaret “Meg” Allbaugh, 89, of Waterloo, Iowa, died Sunday, October 12, 2008, at Friendship Village of natural causes. She was born July 5, 1919, in Grove City, Pa., daughter of Milo and Margaret King Elder. On February 6, 1945, she married Marine Lt. Kenneth Allbaugh in Grove City. She graduated from Slippery Rock State Teachers College in 1939. She was a member of the Waterloo Chamber Diplomats, Waterloo Women’s Club, Chapter FE PEO, and the First Congregational UCC Church.

She is survived by her husband; one son, David (Jeanne) Allbaugh of Waterloo; two daughters, Ann (Steve) Burrell of Richmond Hill, Ga., and Laurie Allbaugh of Waterloo; and two grandchildren, Rachel (Travis Naber) Allbaugh of Manhattan, Kansas, and Daniel Allbaugh of Des Moines, Iowa.
She was preceded in death by her parents.

Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m., Friday, November 14, at First Congregational UCC Church, with burial in Waterloo Cemetery. Visitation is from 3 to 7 p.m., Wednesday, November 12, at Locke Funeral Home, and one hour before the service. Memorials may be directed to the church, the Friendship Village Auxiliary, or the Friendship Village Foundation. The family requests memorials in lieu of flowers. Locke Funeral Home of Waterloo is in charge of arrangements.

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Mary Margaret (Meg) Elder Allbaugh was born July 5, 1919, and was raised on a dairy farm south of Grove City, Penn. Her mother had been a teacher and with a home school approach helped Meg advance two grades and graduate from high school at 15 and then from Elementary Ed at Slippery Rock State Teachers College at 19 in 1939.

And she was elected a member of the education honor society. She started teaching at age 20 in Amsterdam school down the road from their farm and continued 2nd grade in Central school in Grove City for a 7th year till 1946. She later taught in the Waterloo public schools for 3 years in the '60's before her parents came to live with us in Waterloo, her dad till '75 and her mother for 23 years till January 1994.

She met Ken at the uso in the Grove City armory Saturday night dances. He was in the Marine Navy radar training at the 3 month Grove City College course in 1943. When Ken was sent to Treasure Island for 6 months training, she wrote 2 letters a week which brought about a diamond ring the fall of 1944 when Ken was in officers school at Quantico and the wedding 4 days after he got his Lt. bars Feb '45.

She came out to Ames in '46 where Ken was finishing Electrical Engineering at Iowa State College. David arrived in November and we moved to Waterloo after graduation August '47 to work for Iowa Public Service for 40 years. Ann arrived in 1950 while in Eagle Grove and Laurie in 1955 while in Shell Rock and moving back to Waterloo in 1960 to start kindergarten. She was a Cub Scout den mother when David was starting his advancement to Eagle Scout that she helped to motivate.

Meg joined Charlene Conklin to lead the Brownie Girl Scouts but found out she didn't like camping in the rain. She did enjoy teaching in Sunday School and serving the women's circle being the hostess for wedding receptions for 28 years at First Congregational Church in Waterloo. She co chaired the mincemeat committee to prepare shelves full to sell for project support. And she also was a deacon. She was an active member of the Waterloo Womens club. Then the responsibility for parents became her priority.

She joined other friends in the Waterloo Chamber Diplomats for ten years till 1999 to welcome visitors to Waterloo and be a host for Chamber activities, and to chapter FE PEO in Waterloo.

On February 6, 2008 Meg and Ken celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary.

http://www.lockefuneralhome.com/obitdetail.php?id=935