Elma Honn

ELMA HONN

Iowa City

Elma L. Honn, 96, longtime resident of Iowa City, died Saturday, May 23, 2015, at the Briarwood Health Care Center in Iowa City. Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday, May 26, at Gay & Ciha Funeral and Cremation Service, followed by a time of fellowship and refreshments. Burial will be at Memory Gardens Cemetery following the reception.

Memorial donations can be made to the First United Methodist Church of Iowa City.

Online condolences may be sent for her family through the Web at www.gayandciha.com.

Elma Leota Honn was born Aug. 1, 1918, in Oxford, Iowa, the daughter of George W. and Nancy (Hutchinson) Honn. Following graduation from Oxford High School in 1936, she attended Brown's Commerce College in Iowa City preparing her for a career as a secretary. She worked for a number of businesses in the Iowa City area before beginning a career that spanned over 20 years at the Veterans Administration Hospital, retiring in 1980.

She was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Iowa City where she belonged to UMW. In high school, she was a member of the girls basketball team for Oxford; this love of the sport carried on into her strong support of the Iowa women's basketball team for many years. Elma enjoyed her many trips to Door County, Wis., and the Rocky Mountain National Park. And if you knew Elma, you knew her favorite time of the year was in the winter when it snowed!

Those who survive her include her dearest friend of over 60 years, Gayle Lyman; and a number of nieces and nephews, Jim Honn (Frankie) of Amana, Nancy Phares (Dick) of Denver, Colo., Linea Thompson, Fay Medinger and Carlene Verkullan, all of Wisconsin, and Bill Honn of Texas.

She was preceded in death by her parents and 10 siblings.

Elma's family would like to thank Briarwood Healthcare Center and Essence of Life Hospice for their kind and supportive care of Elma and her family.