Velda Conner

VELDA CONNER

Mount Pleasant

Velda Conner, 84, of Mount Pleasant, passed away Wednesday, June 1, 2016, at Pleasant Manor Care Center.

A visitation will be from 2 to 7 p.m. Friday, June 3, at Olson-Powell Memorial Chapel, Mount Pleasant, where the family will receive friends from 5 to 7 p.m. The funeral service will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 4, at the chapel with Bryan Katchay officiating. Inurnment will be in Forest Home Cemetery at a later date.

Memorials may be directed to Alzheimer's Association and Special Olympics of East Central Iowa.

Online condolences may be directed to www.olsonpowell.com.

Born Dec. 23, 1931, in West Grove, Iowa, Velda Elaine was the daughter of Earl MaCajah and Frances Marie (Campbell) Benge. She was a 1950 graduate of Mount Pleasant High School. On June 19, 1954, she married Paul J. Conner at the Little Brown Church in Nashua.

Velda began her work career in 1949 with the phone company in Mount Pleasant. She later worked at the Iowa Ammunitions Plant in Middletown. Upon moving to Cedar Rapids in 1958, she worked at a nursing home in Marion. She retired from the Cedar Rapids School District, where she had worked in food service. The couple moved back to Mount Pleasant in 2005.

A loving wife and mother, Velda loved kids and helped raise her grandchildren. She served as a Cub Scout den mother. Many summers were spent camping with extended family around Iowa. Favorite hobbies included bowling, square dancing, gardening and pulling weeds. An avid reader, she enjoyed romance novels. She loved to vacuum, which served as a great source of stress relief. Velda attended the Alliance Church on 42nd Street in Cedar Rapids.

Survivors include her husband, Paul of Mount Pleasant; four children, Steve Conner of Cedar Rapids, Jeff (Ann) Conner of Marion, Tracy (Cheryl) Conner of Cedar Rapids and Loralee (Ben) Walker of Mount Vernon; six grandchildren, Audrey (Josh) Blount, Logan Walker, Dylan Walker, Sean Conner, Ian Conner and Matt Conner; two brothers, LaVerne Benge of Glendale, Ariz., and Wade (Dee) Benge of Mount Pleasant; two sisters, Illyne Nichols of Bushnell, Ill., and Sherriell Detrick of Mount Pleasant; and two sisters-in-law, Delores Benge of Mount Pleasant and Paula Benge of Fort Madison.

Preceding her in death were her parents and three brothers, Wayne Benge, Dillon Benge and Curtis Benge.

The family wishes to extend their sincere appreciation to Pleasant Manor Care Center and Sunnybrook Assisted Living for the wonderful care provided to Velda in her final years.