Graessle, Ivyl Eleanor

Ivyl Eleanor Graessle, 94, died May 6, 2010, at Meth-Wick Manor. She was surrounded by family and secure in the knowledge that she was greatly loved. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, May 10, at First Lutheran Church. The Rev. Dr. Kay Slocum will officiate. Friends may call after 10 a.m. Monday at the church. Burial will be at Cedar Memorial Park Cemetery. Arrangements by Cedar Memorial Park Funeral Home.

Ivyl was born Sept. 22, 1915, in LaMotte, Iowa, to August and Sylvia (Kringle) Felderman. She met Harold Matthew Graessle at a dance in Dubuque and they began a 65-year marriage on Sept. 24, 1932. They danced into their 80s, often in ballrooms with live music, such as the Lawrence Welk Orchestra. Ivyl once danced with Welk himself.

She and Harold raised two daughters. When their youngest was in high school, Ivyl began a short but enjoyable career as a dental assistant in Webster City. They spent their retirement years in Waterloo and Cedar Rapids and wintered in Arizona. They celebrated their 50th anniversary by riding in a gondola in Venice.

Ivyl's passions were her family, cooking, dining, and stylish dressing. She was an outstanding bridge player. She loved life, had a wonderful sense of humor, and was her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren's biggest fan. She was a lifelong Lutheran and a member of First Lutheran Church. In her final 13 years she experienced great quality of life at The Meth-Wick Community, where she was nurtured by friends and staff.

Ivyl is survived by two daughters, Patricia Ann (Kenneth) Lauer of Cedar Rapids and Shirley May (Sherwin) Taradash of Sarasota, Fla.; four grandchildren, Dee Ann Rexroat (Imran Farooqi) of Mount Vernon, Iowa, David (Prudence) Rexroat of Overland Park, Kan., Scott (Kecia) Lauer of Cedar Rapids and Brian (Becki) Lauer of St. Louis; seven great-grandchildren; four stepgrandchildren; nine stepgreat-grandchildren; and a brother, Lyle (Lillian) Felderman, of Brea, Calif.

She was preceded in death by her husband, sister, and two brothers.

Memorials may be made to First Lutheran or Iowa Hospice.

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