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Else Pitcher
ELSE M. PITCHER
Maquoketa
Else M. Pitcher, 84, of Maquoketa, died peacefully Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2015, at her home at Clover Ridge Place from complications of Alzheimer's disease.
The family wishes to thank Hospice of Jackson
County for their love and attentiveness in Else's final months.
A celebration of Else's life will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 11, at First United Methodist Church in Maquoketa. Friends may visit with the family after the service at the church with a meal to follow. Burial will be in Mount Hope Cemetery, Maquoketa.
Else was born March 4, 1931, to Christian and Astrid Nielsen of Chicago. Her parents were Danish emigrants. She graduated from Brookfield, Ill., High School in 1949 and Iowa State University in 1954, with a degree in home economics journalism. While at ISU, she met Marshall. They shared a love of music and dancing and often frequented the dance halls where many Big Bands of the era were performing. Else and Marshall married July 23, 1955, in Riverside, Ill. After living one year in Freeport, Ill., where Marshall practiced as a veterinarian, they moved to Maquoketa in 1956.
Else worked tirelessly in support of Marshall's veterinary practice and raised their four children. In 1983, she helped open the first Edward D. Jones office in Maquoketa and worked as its branch office administrator until her retirement in 2000.
Else was an active member of First United Methodist Church and served as a teacher for Sunday school and Vacation Bible School. She also was a member of United Methodist Women. She was a member of Beta Sigma Phi and Chapter BX PEO. She became a Master Gardener in 1999. Else served her community by delivering Meals on Wheels and serving on the library board. She enjoyed sewing, gardening and needlework, was an avid reader and loved her crossword puzzles.
Else's greatest joy was in the lives of her children and grandchildren. Her legacy of care and compassion lives on in them.
She was preceded in death by her husband; her parents; and two brothers, Hans and Paul.
She is survived by four children, Paul of Reading, Pa., Anne (Michael) Hawks of Buckeye, Ariz., Alan (Alicia) of Clearwater, Kan., and Miriam (Tom) Mackey of Cedar Rapids; and eight grandchildren, Marshall and Perry Hawks, Charlie Pitcher, Austin, Amelia and Arin Pitcher and Lydia and Helen Mackey.
In lieu of other expressions of sympathy, memorials may be made to Hospice of Jackson County, Jackson County Master Gardeners or First United Methodist Church in Maquoketa.
The Carson Celebration of Life Center in Maquoketa is caring for the family.
Online condolences may be left at www.CarsonAndSon.com.
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