Martha "Mart" Ruth Koehn

Martha "Mart" Ruth Koehn

North English

North English (A Highland Ridge Assisted Living, Williamsburg, Iowa, resident for the past five years) - Martha "Mart" Ruth Koehn was born October 29, 1926 in Fort Madison, Iowa, the daughter of Walter Adolph & Fleta Mildred (Wayland) Siegrist. She was baptized in the Appanoose Presbyterian Church in rural Nauvoo, Illinois. Mart lived on farms near Nauvoo, Illinois, and Denmark, Iowa, where she graduated from Denmark Academy High School. She was recruited to play basketball for Iowa Wesleyan College, where she also sang in the choir. Martha taught elementary school in Wayland,

Fort Madison and Millersburg. She was very adventurous and with summers free she traveled to Washington state to pick cherries, waitressed at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, clerked at a department store in Los Angeles, California, and worked on statistics for Iowa State University in Ames.

On August 12, 1951, Martha was united in marriage to Harold Koehn at the Congregational Church in Denmark.

Martha was a hard-working farm wife who enjoyed people, loved music, flower and vegetable gardening, playing softball, traveling, history and especially genealogy, where she delved into her Swiss, Austrian, Scottish and German heritage. She was proud to be a Jamestown Colony descendent.

She was very dedicated in her church serving as Sunday School teacher for 20 years, choir for 67 years, and held many other positions. She was very active in the school and community as a Girl Scout leader, band parent and in the PTA. Attending her children's, grandchildren’s and great grandchildren's sporting and music events brought her much joy.

Martha was a member of the UMW, United Methodist Church, Clark County Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Iowa County Genealogical Society, American Legion Auxiliary, Iowa Wesleyan Alumni Association and the Germanna Foundation.

One of her greatest memories was traveling to Europe, visiting 13 countries while camping out with the Methodist Church group.

Martha died on Monday, November 28, 2022, at Compass Memorial Hospital in Marengo, at the age of 96 years.

She is survived by her children, Kevin (Christine) Koehn, Kandace (Steve) Rose and Kathy (Dennis) Goemaat; grandchildren, Shara (Scott) Axmear, Caleb (Erin) Koehn, Jeremy (Amanda) Koehn, Zachary (Renee) Rose, Carissa (Nathan) Johnson, Mikayla Goemaat and Amelia (fiance, Sterling Prout) Koehn; 8 great grandchildren; and sisters-in-law, Wanda and Linda Siegrist; as well as nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents; husband; a grandson, Ryan Rose; a niece, Dana Pechin; and brothers, Lee and Jerry Siegrist.

Visitation will be held on Thursday, December 1, 2022 from 4:00 to 6:00 pm at the Powell Funeral Home in North English. A private family service and burial will be held at a later date. Memorials may be given to the Millersburg First Responders, Foundation Fighting Blindness or Millersburg United Methodist Church.

Messages and tributes may be left at

www.powellfuneralhomes.com.