Virginia McDowell

VIRGINIA MCDOWELL

Cedar Rapids

Virginia Ruth McDowell, 88, of Cedar Rapids, formerly of Mechanicsville, passed away Sunday, July 12, 2015, with her family at her side.

Ruth is survived by her husband, Gordon; children, Linda Kepler (Bill Newlen), Craig McDowell (Shelley), Gordy McDowell (Belia) and Shelly McDowell (Rick Connelly); grandchildren, Eirik Kepler, Nikki Carmer (Mike), Travis Kepler, Aaron (Casey), Brian and Jason McDowell, Cole Harlan (Emily) and Stephanie Blankenship (Jeff); great-grandchildren, Kourtney Kepler and Dallas Carmer; and nieces, Lorraine Schultz and Kathy Rand.

She was preceded in death by her parents and sister, Margaret Howard (Kenneth).

Ruth was born Aug. 24, 1926, in Farnam, Neb., to the late Herman and Daisy Beye. They later moved to the Marshalltown area where she attended elementary and high school. After graduation, she moved to Cedar Rapids and attended business college. Ruth married Gordon McDowell on June 3, 1950. After moving to Mechanics-ville, she became involved in many community activities. She will always be remembered for her years as a Camp Fire leader and how she enjoyed her job at the Mount Vernon Sun News covering all the Mechanicsville social events and city council meetings. Later in life, she loved to play cards and volunteer at the senior center.

A private graveside service will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday, July 16. Arrangements are being handled by Cedar Memorial Park Funeral Home.

Please leave a message for the family on the website www.cedar

memorial.com under obituaries.