Fern S. Allison

Fern S. Allison

Iowa City

Fern S. Allison passed away peacefully after a long illness on Thursday, December 12, 2024, at Briarwood Healthcare in Iowa City.

A Funeral Service to celebrate Fern will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, December 19, 2024, at First United Methodist Church, Iowa City. A luncheon will immediately follow the service in the church fellowship hall. Fern will be laid to rest next to her husband Duane on Friday, December 20, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. at the Iowa Veteran’s Cemetery, Adel, Iowa.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Essence of Life Hospice or Table to Table.

Fern was born on September 2, 1937, in rural Winterset, Iowa to J.G. (“Doc”) and Rella (Breeding) Schoenenberger.

On May 5, 1957, Fern married the love of her life, Robert Duane (R.D.) Allison, at the Methodist Church in Winterset, Iowa. The newlyweds moved to Iowa City where her husband attended the University, and they never left.

Fern worked for the University of Iowa in Administrative Data Processing as a Data Systems Manager for the Central Business Office which involved managing and optimizing data systems to support accounting functions.

She loved to garden, cook, and bake, especially during the Christmas season, which was her favorite time of the year. She was very active in the First United Methodist Church and served on many committees in the Iowa City community: Project Green, Mercy Hospital Guild, 4 Season Garden Club, and was a former Member Iowa City Pilot Club.

She and Duane shared a love for antiques, especially lightning rods and spool cabinets. They were avid Hawkeye fans for over 50 years, especially Football and Basketball. Above everything else, Fern adored her family and friends and many of us would not be who we are today without her love and kindness.

Fern will be deeply missed by her three nieces and their husbands: Maria and Paul Benetti (Conway, Washington), Karina and Jason Casini (Des Moines) and Monica Frankl (Urbandale); their children: Margaret, Ellen, Antonia, and Sophia (Benetti), Gabrielle, Max, and Isabella (Casini) and Samuel and Natalie (Frankl); sister-in-law Virginia Schoenenberger many other nieces, nephews and dear friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Robert Duane in 2015 and her siblings: Chester (Chet), Nicholas, James, Saul, Fannie Anne Chervinka and Helen Axlund, and her niece Lavina Cerny.

The family and friends would like to thank the Briarwood staff for their compassionate and outstanding care that Fern received during a very difficult time.

Online condolences and memories may be shared at www.lensingfuneral.com.