Manatt, Verna M.

Verna M. Manatt, 83, of Grinnell, died Saturday, Feb. 13, 2010, in her home at the Mayflower Community. Mass of the resurrection will be held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at St. Mary's Catholic Church, Grinnell, with the Rev. Nick Adam and the Rev. Mr. William Olson officiating. Music will be provided by Janet Pilcher. Casket bearers will be her grandsons, Gabe and Nicholas Hier, Drew, Joe, Beau and Hunter Manatt, Maxwell Nemer and Hans Sleichter. A luncheon reception will be held at the Grinnell Country Club following the funeral service. A private family entombment will be held Thursday afternoon at Hazelwood Cemetery, Grinnell. Friends may call at the Smith Funeral Home, Grinnell, beginning at noon Wednesday with a prayer service at 5:45 p.m. The family will be present beginning at 2 p.m.

Memorials may be directed to St. Mary's Parish Foundation or to Loras College Scholarship Fund and sent in care of the Smith Funeral Home, P.O. Box 368, Grinnell, IA 50112.

Verna was born on Jan. 3, 1927, in Dyersville, Iowa to Henry and Margaret Mary Kalb George. She was raised in Dyersville, and attended parochial school there. She received a degree in nursing from Mercy Hospital in Dubuque, and served as a nurse in Iowa, Arizona and California.

On Oct. 31, 1949, she married Merlin Manatt at St. Xavier Basilica, Dyersville. The couple lived in Victor and Brooklyn before moving to Grinnell in 1968. She took great pride in raising her six children and maintaining their home. In 1968, Governor Harold Hughes awarded her with a Life Saving Award. She enjoyed spending the winter months with her husband and family in Indian Wells, Calif.

Verna was a member of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Grinnell and was past president of the Altar and rosary Society. She also was a member of PEO, TTT, Priscilla Club and the Red Hat Club.

Survivors include her husband, Merlin Manatt of Grinnell; her children, Bradford James (Mary) Manatt of Newton, Michelle Marie Manatt of Minneapolis, Minn., Margaret Mary “Molly” (Bob) Hier of Castle Rock, Colo., Julie Ann Manatt of Eden Prairie, Minn., Jeffrey George Manatt of Kirkland, Wash., and Anthony John “Tony” (Piper) Manatt of DeWitte; 13 grandchildren, Drew, Joe, Amanda, Emily, Ellen, Gabe, Nick, Molly, Maxwell, Jai, Beau, Hunter and Hans; one great-grandson, Brooklyn James Manatt; and one sister, Kathleen Tobin of Minneapolis.

She was preceded in death by her parents; one sister, Gladys Tauke; and two brothers, Robert and Eldon George.