Hershey, Velma Darlene

Velma Darlene Hershey, 70, of Alburnett, died Dec. 4, 2013, at St. Luke's Hospital, Cedar Rapids, surrounded by her loving family following a courageous battle with cancer. Funeral Service: 10:30 a.m. Monday, Dec. 9, at Murdoch Funeral Home & Cremation Center, Marion. The family will greet friends from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 8, at the funeral home. Burial: Fairfax Cemetery, Fairfax.

Survivors include her husband of 46 years, George Hershey Sr.; three children, Ed (Karmen) Hershey of Anamosa, Catherine (Jeff) Pyle of Palo and Kim (Jeremiah) McGraw of Alburnett; 12 grandchildren, Cavan, Nathan, Adrienne, Kylee, Lakyn, Landon, Blaine, Aidan, Addyson, Carlyn, Cameron and Joslyn; her siblings, Ronda (David) Wilson of Central City, Vera (Bob) Greve of Waubeek, Annetta (Harry) Hershey of Central City, John (Susan) Romig of Edgewood and Jim (Martha) Romig of Edgewood; a sister-in-law, Betty (Marty) Bayer of Guernsey; and numerous nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents.

Velma was born April 21, 1943, the daughter of Burdette and Buelah (Elsbury) Romig, in Cedar Rapids. She graduated from Edgewood High School, and then served in the United States Army. On Dec. 2, 1967, she was united in marriage to George Edward Hershey Sr. in Edgewood. She was a dedicated farm wife and homemaker. Velma enjoyed flowers, gardening, and spending time with family, especially her grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the family in Velma's memory. The memorials will be donated to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. You may also donate in Velma's memory directly to the foundation at www.themmrf.org.

A special thanks to the staff at St. Luke's Hospice for all of their kindness and care.

Please sign the online guest book for Velma at www.murdochfuneralhome.com under obituaries.

Published Dec. 6, 2013 in The Gazette