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Ethel Moen
ETHEL V. MILBRATH MOEN
Vinton
Ethel V. Milbrath Moen, 95, died Sunday, May 21, 2017, at the Vinton Lutheran Home. The family will greet friends and relatives from noon to 1 p.m. Thursday, May 25, at Bethany Lutheran Church, 307 Third St. NE, Elkader, followed by the funeral service at 1 p.m. with Pastor Susan Friedrich officiating. Committal will be held at the Elkader Cemetery.
Ethel was born Jan. 16, 1922, in Winneshiek County, to the late Herbert and Mabel (Gunderson) Milbrath. She graduated from Cresco High School in 1940. On June 23, 1943, Ethel married Selmar "Sam" Moen. In 1950, the couple moved to New Hampton, Iowa, where they worked together in the grocery business. In 1965, the family moved to Elkader, where Sam managed and Ethel worked for Wilke's grocery store until his death in 1984. Ethel continued to work for Wilke's until 1989.
From August 1989 through August 1991, Ethel served as a Lutheran diaconal associate at Eben Ezer Lutheran Home in Brush, Colo. In July 2011, she moved to an assisted living apartment of the Lutheran Home in Vinton.
Ethel was a member of Bethany Lutheran Church since 1965, where she enjoyed being active in the Women of the ELCA circle and Prayer and Share group.
Ethel is survived by a sister, Hazel Milbrath Amundson of Decorah; her five children and their families, Charles (Barbara) Moen of Phoenix, Ariz., Robert (Becky) Moen of Vinton, Steven (Andrea) Moen of Iowa City, Susan Moen of West Des Moines and Sandra (Ralph) Jones of Pleasantville, Pa.; 14 grandchildren; and 18 great-grandchildren.
Besides her parents and husband, Ethel was preceded in death by her oldest child, David, who died at birth on May 3, 1944; brothers, Lester and George Milbrath; and sisters, Geneva Vagts and Audrey Ott.
Memorial contributions may be made to Bethany Lutheran Church, Elkader; Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Vinton; or the Assisted Living Unit of the Vinton Lutheran Home.
Van Steenhuyse-Russell Funeral Home of Vinton is caring for Ethel and her family. Condolences may be left at www.vsrfh.com.
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