Lenora Anna Barta, Lenora Anna Barta

Lenora Anna Barta, 101, entered the Kingdom of Heaven on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2009, at Higley Mansion Care Center, Cedar Rapids, surrounded by her immediate and extended family. Funeral services will be held 2 p.m. Sunday at Papich-Kuba Janeba Chapel West, 1604 J St. SW, by the Rev. William Harnish. Lenora will be escorted back to California as she requested, and buried beside her beloved husband Kenneth, at Rose Hills Memorial Park, Whittier, Calif. Friends may call from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday at the funeral home.

Lenora is survived by her beloved beautiful cat Cookie and many, many cousins including Maxine R. (Stastny) Miller and Margaret (Stastny) Jones, both of Cedar Rapids, and Leonard Feiereisen of Downey, Calif. She also is survived by her extended, loving family at Higley Mansion Care Center.

Lenora was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 40 years, Kenneth Barta, formerly of Ely; her first husband, Fred Zurka, who died of cancer after 20 years of marriage; her parents, John and Anna (Stastny) Dostal; and her older sister, also named Lenora, who died in 1907 at the age of 6 years from influenza.

Lenora was born May 26, 1908, at her family home on C Street SW in Czech Village. She graduated from the “old” Washington High School in Greene Square, near the old train depot, in 1925. Lenora traveled several times to Chicago to participate in Palmer Method Penmanship contests and received several awards actually signed by Mr. Palmer. In her youth, Lenora helped her mother sell vegetables and fruit from their buggy drawn by “Barney,” their horse. Each week they would circle Czech Village selling their goods to neighbors and friends. Following her high school graduation, Lenora worked in the business office at Willson and Co. Meat Packing plant. The office was on the second floor of the building and from the window, Lenora and the other office girls would look down on the “yard” were the cute boys would take their breaks. Fred Zurka, her future husband, was one of those boys. Lenora was an excellent seamstress and worked at Mitvalsky's Furriers in the 1930s and at Killian's Department Store in the 1940s.

Following her husband Fred's death, Lenora married Kenneth Barta and they moved to Tuscon, Ariz., in 1949, where he worked for Swift & Co. out of Cedar Rapids. In 1950, Lenora's parents happily followed her to Tuscon, built a home next door to Lenora and Kenneth, and moved with them each time Kenneth was transferred until their deaths. Over the years, Lenora and Kenneth moved with Swift & Co. from Tucson to Sacramento, Calif., South San Francisco and retired in Bell, Calif., in 1975. Since then, Lenora enjoyed 34 years of traveling and fun.

In February 2009, Lenora returned to Cedar Rapids from Bell, Calif., and had resided at Higley Mansion Care Center since returning. In the short time she has been back in Cedar Rapids, she was interviewed by Channel 9 at the annual Saint Joseph's Day Dance and appeared on the evening news less than 2 weeks after her arrival here. Lenora was so thrilled to have the Czech Heritage Singers serenade her in her room at Higley Mansion just four days before she passed away. Lenora had a contagious smile and was known as “Giggles” at Higley Mansion. She lived a very long, happy and successful life, was always so pleasant to be around and provided her Cedar Rapids family with many interesting family stories and wonderful memories to remember.

It is an interesting coincidence that Lenora was born in 1908 and Higley Mansion was built in 1908!

Lenora's family would like to thank the Higley Mansion staff and friends who became extended family members for taking such incredible care of Lenora, when in both good and bad health, for allowing her to remain at Higley until the end and making everything so easy during a tough time. A special thanks to Myra, Valerie, Jamie, Lynn and Chaplain Joe with Hospice for such kind and gentle care. Thanks also for holding her family's hand and teaching them how to lovingly help Lenora make her final journey. Higley Manion and Hospice, you are the very best.

Instead of flowers, donations may be made to the Cedar Valley Humane Society, 7411 Mount Vernon Rd. SE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52403, in Lenora and Cookie's honor. Lenora's cat Cookie is lovingly being cared for by her family.