116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Obituaries
The Gazette publishes obituaries on a daily basis. Use the search field above to search for obituaries by name or keyword. Readers can submit an obituary or submit a milestone to The Gazette. The obituary must be submitted before 1 p.m. for publication on thegazette.com at 6 p.m. and in the daily edition the next day, with the exception of obituaries for Sunday publication, which must be submitted by 1 p.m. on Fridays.
The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
Nadine Sue (Tesene) Drennan
Nadine Sue (Tesene) Drennan
Clear Lake
Nadine Sue (Tesene) Drennan passed away peacefully on May 8, 2025 in Mason City, Iowa.
Nadine was born on February 1, 1938 in Mason City, Iowa to Walter Knaak Tesene and Gladys (Kruggel) Tesene. She graduated from Clear Lake High School in 1956 and then attended Iowa State College, where she earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Chemistry. She met her husband-to-be, William (Bill) Drennan, of New Sharon, Iowa, in the Iowa State student union when Bill invited Nadine to a game of bridge. When she said she didn’t know bridge, he said, “That’s no problem, I’ll teach you.”
On October 2, 1960, Nadine and Bill were married in Clear Lake and moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where they lived for the next 29 years. In 1963, they took an adventurous trip – touring Europe for the whole summer on “five dollars a day” in a blue VW bug purchased in Wolfsburg, Germany. When they returned home, the VW bug came along too (shipped from Germany).
Bill and Nadine had two daughters, Kathleen Drennan Allen (husband Kelly Allen) and Heather Lynn Drennan (husband James Bowles). They were blessed with five grandchildren, Aza Drennan Allen, Isabella Michelle Allen, Avery Chawner Drennan, Finn Malcolm Bowles and Milo Hugh Bowles.
Nadine put her chemistry degree to use at Cargill’s Sanitation Laboratories in Cedar Rapids and managed the lab for many years. She focused on enforcing safety measures and eventually transferred to the Eddyville Cargill location as a safety specialist. Nadine excelled in her work and was a strong role model for her daughters and their friends.
After retirement, Bill and Nadine moved first to his New Sharon family farm and later to Nadine’s family farm in Clear Lake. In their early retirement, they had many adventures together while traveling doing food audits and exploring Midwestern towns.
Nadine loved gardening and often said she felt most like herself in the garden. She had a lifelong love of elephants and quilts, as well as cooking and baking. Nadine and Bill spent 58 years together – enjoying friends, antique shopping, cruises, their children and grandchildren, and a deep love for the Iowa land.
Nadine was preceded in death by her husband Bill, who passed away in 2019. She is survived by her daughters, Kathleen Allen (Kelly Allen) and Heather Drennan (James Bowles) as well as her five grandchildren.
Donations may be given to the World Wildlife Fund (in honor of Nadine’s love of elephants) and the Central Gardens of North Iowa (where she volunteered for many years).
https://www.colonialchapels.com/obituaries/
Nadine-Sue-Drennan?obId=42526205
Daily Newsletters