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Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
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Antonette 'Toni' Pickering
ANTONETTE "TONI" PICKERING
Cedar Rapids
Antonette "Toni"
Pickering, 76, of Cedar Rapids, passed away Saturday, Aug. 22, 2020. Private family Celebration
of Life service: 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 26, by Celebrant Dawn Stephens at Stewart Baxter Funeral & Memorial Services, Cedar Rapids. Friends and extended family are invited to watch the services via livestream
on Facebook. Search for and join the Remembering Toni Pickering Facebook group for more information. Inurnment: Lafayette Cemetery, rural Alburnett.
Survivors include her children, James Paul Pickering (Kevin Phillips), Samuel "Pick" (Samantha) Pickering, Pippin (Carolyn) Pickering, Aerin (Nate) Freno, Kenley (MaryBeth) Pickering, Kerrin "KK" (Sam) Magu and Elen "ET" Pickering; and 10 grandchildren.
Antonette Elizabeth Kirchner was born Aug. 26, 1943, in Cedar Rapids, to James and Pauline (Reznicek) Kirchner. She earned her master's degree at Coe College in 1966. She met James Pickering at Coe, after participating in an experiment he was conducting. She skewed the results, they were married, and the rest is history. She was a full-time mother, caring for their seven children, attending their events and supporting them through their activities. Though she didn't drive (except for the rare emergency), she knew all of the bus drivers' names and was spot-on in timing the bus routes.
Toni was a spiritual, kind and peaceful person who enjoyed meditation and different aspects of some formal religions, though never claimed a specific one. She enjoyed volunteering her time helping women and children with PATCH and the Madge Phillips Center. Toni worked in customer service for a period for Frontier Global and later Alliant Energy. She was a sincere fan of Janis Joplin, was a talented and creative poet, and enjoyed reading poetry, especially Emerson.
She was preceded in death by her parents; husband of more than 50 years, Jim; her Babi; and Aunt Rose.
In memory of Toni, her family asks that you pay a kind gesture forward or volunteer your time to someone in need.
Please share your support and memories with Toni's family on her tribute wall at www.stewartbaxter.com under obituaries.
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