Myrna Robertson-Popa

MYRNA ROBERTSON-POPA

Marion

Myrna J. Robertson-Popa, 75, of Marion, passed away Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2014, at St. Luke's Hospital, Cedar Rapids. Funeral services will be 11 a.m. Monday, Oct. 20, at Cedar Memorial Park Chapel of Memories, Cedar Rapids, with the Rev. Steven Knudsen officiating. Friends may call from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 19, at Cedar Memorial Park Funeral Home, Cedar Rapids. Burial will be at Cedar Memorial Park Cemetery, Cedar Rapids.

Myrna was born June 2, 1939, in Floodwood, Minn., the only child of Eino and Aili Mustonen. She was blessed with kind and loving parents (Myrna liked being 100 percent Finnish), beloved children and grandchildren (how wonderful to be a mother and a grandma!!).

She raised her family traditionally as a stay-at-home mom and filled a portion of her "free" time supporting community projects through volunteerism. She was a sustaining member of Cedar Rapids Junior League (serving on the board as assistant treasurer and treasurer in 1977-78 and 1978-79), a member of PEO IH chapter, Black Purse Coffee Group (Is there life before coffee?) and a member of First Lutheran Church. She attended Kirkwood Community and Mount Mercy colleges.

She was grateful for a fulfilling career later in life that developed into a business of her own, representing commercial furniture and fabric manufacturers. She spent those years meeting and supporting hundreds of salespeople, designers and end-users throughout Iowa, northwestern Illinois and southwestern Wisconsin. (It was fun to go to work every day….. well, almost every day!).

Myrna liked to read, quilt and garden, and she really enjoyed cooking. She was always searching for that awesome recipe to share with family and friends. She loved baking dozens of cookies at Christmas, nut stollen, cinnamon and pecan rolls and desserts – especially her grandchildren's favorites.

She enjoyed living in the best place ever, Cedar Rapids/Marion, since 1953, when the family moved here and she began attending Franklin High School (class of 1957). There she made many lifelong friends and always spoke of those happy years as a great time to be a teenager.

The second best place to live was summers at the lake in Wisconsin, where she and her husband, Tom, spent many great summers. This was the project of their lives, renovating the old house with their blended families in mind. They especially enjoyed the grandkids' visits, and the door was always open to guests who enjoyed boating, jet skiing, dinner on the lake at the Arbor Inn or just sitting on the deck enjoying the awesome view.

A friend described her as "one tough cookie" – surviving acoustic neuroma surgery, temporal arteritis and multiple myeloma. Myrna said that some things were just too big for her to worry about and turned them over to her God and her doctor. She appreciated the extensive, heartfelt support from her many friends and family and enjoyed a happy marriage for the last 25 years with her best friend.

She is survived by her husband, Tom; daughter, Teresa (Bill) Fettkether of Cedar Rapids; son, Jon (Laurie) Robertson of Minneapolis; step-daughters, Tracy (Dave) Corell of Marion and Beth Byrwa of Costa Mesa, Calif.; 10 grandchildren, Darci (Ken) Hagen, Marie Fettkether; Kevin, Tim and Henry Robertson, Jake and Scott Corell, and Grant, Jared and Owen Byrwa; and two great-grand-children, Kenner and Alex Hagen.

Myrna was preceded in death by her parents and first husband, Ron Robertson.

The family would like to thank all of the medical personnel attending Myrna, especially Drs. Atay, Cogdill and Warren, PCI nurse practitioner Leslie, and PCI nurses Ami, Crystal and Sue for their caring and compassion.

Memorial donations may be directed to the American Cancer Society or Juvenile Diabetes Eastern Iowa Chapter, 1026 A Ave. NE, Box 3026, Cedar Rapids, IA 52406.

Please leave an online condolence for the family at www.cedar memorial.com under Obituaries.