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Mary L. Michels
MARY L. MICHELS
Manchester
Mary L. Michels, 78, of Manchester, Iowa, formerly
of Central City, Iowa, passed away on Wednesday, July 15, 2020, at the Good Neighbor Home in Manchester. Visitation will be held on Thursday, July 23, 2020, from 4 to 6 p.m. at Murdoch Funeral Home & Cremation Service in Marion, Iowa.
All guests are respectfully encouraged to wear a mask and practice social distancing.
Funeral services for Mary will be 10 a.m. Friday, July 24, 2020, at the United Church of Christ, the corner of Fifth and Main streets in Central City, with the Rev. Vicki Engelmann officiating. Private family inurnment will follow at Mount Clark Cemetery, Central City.
Mary was born June 26, 1942, in Shellsburg, Iowa, the daughter of Willis and Hazel (Van Dyke) Bruce. She graduated from Shellsburg High School in Benton County, Iowa. Mary was united in marriage to Richard L. Michels on Oct. 14, 1960, in Shellsburg. To this union two children were born. Richard and Mary dedicated their lives to making a home on a farm near Central City. There was no greater reward than living on a farm and raising your family. During these times farming was hard work, but everyone would pitch in and help. Chores needed to be done whether it was tending to the livestock, working the land or harvesting the crops. There always was great excitement to attend the Fourth of July festivities, show 4-H projects at the county fair, get together for a family gathering or attend church functions. Mary retired in 2002 from farming. She was a member of the Linn County Fair board, Linn County Pork Producers, YEWS and United Church of Christ in Central City.
She is survived by her children, Dianne (Brian) Wortham, Manchester, and Daniel (Elaine) Michels, Llano, Calif.; grandchildren, Emily (Derrick) Schmidt, Jesse Flitsch, Elizabeth Flitsch, Alex (Damaris) Michels and Rachel Michels; great-grandchildren, Alexis Strait and Otto and Oliver Schmidt; and siblings, David (Beverly) Bruce, Sarasota, Fla., and Walter (Martha) Bruce and Nancy (William) Seely, both of Shellsburg.
Mary was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Richard; and sister and brother-in-law, Ethel (Dick) Sweet.
Please share a memory of Mary at www.murdochfuneralhome.com under obituaries.
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