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Hedges, Vivian Mary
Vivian Mary Hedges, 93, died peacefully Sunday, Feb. 27, 2010, at Lantern Park Nursing & Rehab Center, Coralville. Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Thursday, March 3, at St. Mary's Catholic Church, Iowa City, with Father John Spiegel officiating. Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at Lensing Funeral Home, Iowa City, where a rosary will be recited at 4:30 p.m. Burial will be at St. Joseph's Cemetery, Iowa City.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be directed to St. Mary's Catholic Church or to the Stroke Group at Mercy Iowa City.
Vivian was born on Jan. 13, 1918, in Oxford, Iowa, the daughter of James and Winifred (Cooney) Leeney. She spent her childhood in Oxford and graduated from Oxford High School. Shortly after graduating from high school, Vivian, at the request of her boyfriend Elmer Hedges, moved to Detroit, Mich., to work as a riveter for Chrysler Motor Corporation, or better known as a “Rosie the Riveter.” This was a tremendous job during the war and Vivian continued this work for nearly eight years. On Nov. 27, 1943, Vivian and Elmer Hedges were married in Detroit, Mich., and the couple later moved to Hammond, Ind., where they resided for 29 years, until moving back to Iowa City permanently.
Vivian was a fun loving lady who always had many activities and interests. She was a lifetime member of St. Mary's Catholic Church, a member of the Catholic Order of Foresters and a longtime member of the VFW Post No. 7881 Ladies Auxillary. Vivian also spent countless hours volunteering for Mercy Hospital and was a member of the Stroke Group at Mercy. In her free time, she loved to spend time with her family, enjoyed playing cards and was an avid bowler.
Survivors include her loving sister, Melva Petrak of Coralville; and multiple nieces, nephews and great-nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Elmer; and her three sisters, Margie Thormann, Berniece Kron and Mary Kallaus.
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