Imelda Eckermann

IMELDA MENKE ECKERMANN

Cosgrove

Imelda Menke Eckermann, 89, of Cosgrove, died Sunday, March 27, 2016, at Clarissa Cook Hospice in Bettendorf surrounded by her family. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Thursday, March 31, at St. Peter's Catholic Church, Cosgrove, with Father Edmond Dunn officiating. Burial will be at St. Peter's Cemetery. Visitation will be from 4 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service, Iowa City, where the Altar and Rosary and Catholic Society of Foresters will recite the rosary at 4 p.m. and a parish vigil will be at 7:30 p.m. A luncheon will be held in the St. Peter's Hall following the funeral.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to St. Peter's Church, the Cosgrove Institute or Systems Unlimited.

Born April 2, 1926, in West Point, Iowa, Imelda was the daughter of Al and Rose Dingman Menke. She came to Iowa City in 1944 and enrolled in the Mercy School of Nursing, achieving her RN in 1947 and becoming an inductee in the United States Nurse Cadet Corps. In 1948, she was married to Louis J. Eckermann, a farmer and Army veteran from Cosgrove.

If there was ever a woman to look up to for her faith and work ethic, it was Imelda. She enjoyed being around her four daughters and five sons and was constantly promoting their religious and secular education. After several years of hospital work and private nursing practice, she worked at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in the pathology department as a nurse supervisor at DeGowin Blood Center for 17 years. At DeGowin, she was actively involved in the development and application of various medical procedures including bone marrow transplants and blood plasma apheresis and contributed to articles published in The Journal of Clinical Apheresis and Transfusion Magazine.

Imelda was a member of St. Peter's Parish, Cosgrove, and charter board member of the Cosgrove Institute. She was a member of the Catholic Order of Foresters, the Altar & Rosary Society and the Double D Bridge Club. She was a leader for the Hardin Topnotchers Girls 4-H Club, a strong proponent of girls basketball with the Regina Booster Club and an active supporter of Systems Unlimited. When the grandchildren came along, Imelda loved to care for them with her music and yummy homemade treats.

She is survived by her daughters, Jeanette Yeggy of Davenport, Lu Anne Brown of Ankeny, Mary Kay Eckermann of Iowa City and Angi (Joe) Reinbold of Warrenton, Va.; sons, Charles "Chuck" (Mona) of Fort Myers, Fla., Doug (Anne) of Urbandale, David of Cosgrove and Rick (Celia) of Cosgrove; brothers, Ralph (Lucille) Menke of Davenport and Clarence Menke of Phoenix, Ariz.; sister-in-law, Dorothy (Rick) Menke; 16 grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; and numerous extended family.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Louis; brothers, Rick and Linus; sisters, Mary Louise Fedler, Margaret Pollpeter and Sister Rose Menke; son, John; daughter-in-law, Patty (David); and grandaughter, Amber Yeggy.

Online condolences may be sent to www.lensingfuneral.com.