Coons, Velma Leona (Wolmutt)

Velma Leone (Wolmutt) Coons, 102, of Springville, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, March 2, 2010, at St. Luke's Hospital, Cedar Rapids, surrounded by her loving family. Services: 10 a.m. Saturday, March 6, at Prairie Chapel United Methodist Church, rural Marion, by the Rev. H. Burr Bryant. Visitation will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday at Murdoch Funeral Home, Marion. Burial: Prairie Chapel Cemetery, rural Marion.

 Survivors include her grandchildren, James A. Miller Jr. of Durham, N.C., Joan Miller (Mike) Holladay of Atlanta, Ga., and Jennifer Miller (Jose) Torres of Hurdle Mills, N.C.; three great-grandchildren, Sarah, Kristen and John Holladay; and many nieces and nephews.

 She was preceded in death by her husband, John; her daughter, Nancy Miller (2001); and her parents and siblings.

 Leone was born Sept. 14, 1907, in rural Central City, the daughter of James and Gertrude (Reed) Wolmutt. She graduated from Central City High School in 1925 and from Iowa State Teachers College in 1928. Leone went on to earn a BA in psychology from Coe College in 1966. She married John Coons on May 27, 1936, in Decorah. John died in December 1999. Leone was a lifelong teacher, starting out in one-room school houses, and going on to teach at Springville Schools, retiring in 1972. She was a member of Prairie Chapel United Methodist Church.

Leone will be greatly missed by the people she touched in her life.

 A memorial fund has been established in Leone's memory.

Please sign the online guest book for Leone at    under obituaries.