Brumley, Mary Ellen

Mary Ellen Brumley, 95, of 2104 Palmer Circle, died Thursday night, Sept. 2, 2010, at Mercy Iowa City. Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 7, at Gay & Ciha Funeral and Cremation Service, followed by burial in Memory Gardens Cemetery. Visitation will be Monday from 4 to 6 p.m. at the funeral home.

Mary Ellen was born to Carolyn Jane (Smith) and Tira Connell on Feb. 27, 1915, in Deep River, Iowa. She attended school in Deep River, graduating in 1932, and then went on to graduate from Gohde School of Cosmetology in Lincoln, Neb. She owned and operated her own beauty salon in downtown Iowa City for many years. In 1936, Mary Ellen married Larry Brumley in Rock Island, Ill. Together, they operated a rental property business until Larry's death on April 11, 1994. She was a loving mother to her two sons, Terry Brumley of Centerville and James Brumley of Iowa City.

She studied voice at the University of Iowa and Grinnell College and was an accomplished pianist, as well as an expert seamstress. She was a member of First United Methodist Church UMW and the American Legion Auxiliary. She remained active in the church and the lives of her family, attending her granddaughter Katie's wedding just two months before her passing.

She was predeceased by her parents, and her four brothers, Lawrence, Mike, Clancy and Cliff.

She was survived by her beloved sons, Jim and Terry; her daughter-in-law, Karen; her four grandchildren, Kirsten, Robert, David and Katie; and two great-granddaughters, Emily and Kathryn.

Memorials may be made to First United Methodist Church.