Howe, Ethel M.

Ethel M. Howe, 80, of Iowa City, died at her home Thursday, Nov. 26, 2009. Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Monday at Gay & Ciha Funeral and Cremation Service in Iowa City, with the Rev. Edward Hansen officiating. Burial will be at Memory Gardens Cemetery in Iowa City. Visitation will be one hour before the services at the funeral home. 

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be sent for NAMI (National Alliance for the Mentally Ill of Johnson County) or Chatham Oaks Care Facility.

Online condolences may be sent for her family through the Web at

Ethel Mae Hansen was born Jan. 27, 1929, near Arcadia, Neb. She was the daughter of Oscar Hansen and Anna (Ulm) Hansen. In 1944, the family moved to Iowa near Creston. She grew up on farms and when she graduated from high school at age 17, she received her teaching certificate, with her first job was in a one room school house. She taught for several years in the Creston area and later in Des Moines.

On July 31, 1949, she married Clifford Eugene Howe of Creston. They lived in Iowa, Illinois and California, and returned to Iowa City in 1967, where she lived the rest of her life. Ethel and Cliff had two daughters, Sheryl and Nancy. Ethel loved to spend time with family, friends and neighbors. She enjoyed flower gardening and antiques. Ethel and Cliff were two of the founding members of the Johnson County chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill.

Ethel's family includes her two daughters, Sheryl Howe of Denver, Colo., and Nancy Howe of Iowa City. She is also survived by a brother, Jule Hansen of Creston and his wife, Pauline; nieces and nephews from the Creston area, California, and further reaches; and many great-nieces and great-nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Cliff; one brother, Oscar Hansen Jr.; and earlier this week, her sister, Lois Boyer, of Kent, Iowa.

Gay & Ciha Funeral and Cremation Service of Iowa City is caring for Ethel's family and her services.