Marcia R. Dircks

Marcia R. Dircks

Rochester, Minn.

Marcia Rose (Boddicker) Dircks was lifted by the hands of her Lord on Monday, Sept. 25, 2023, to join her family in heaven.

Marcia was born at Mercy Hospital in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on March 11, 1948. She was welcomed by her parents Cyril and Luella Boddicker of Newhall, Iowa. When she arrived home she was greeted by her big sister, Dorothy Lou Bodddicker. Marcia went to school in Newhall until her senior year when it closed and she graduated from Benton Community School in 1966. Marcia began nursing training at Eastern Iowa Community College in Davenport, Iowa, and finished with her LPN in 1967. She was united in marriage to Herbert William Dircks of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Nov. 18, 1967, at St. Paul Catholic Church in Newhall, Iowa. Herb and Marcia moved to Waterloo, Iowa, where she was a nurse at Allen Hospital and Herb was beginning his apprenticeship with H and H Machine Tool Company. While in Waterloo, her first child was born, Jason Lewis Dircks in 1969. They moved back to Cedar Rapids in the Cedar Hills area. A daughter, Jennifer Ann Dircks, joined the family in 1973. Marcia worked in Cedar Rapids as a nurse for 32 years, mostly at Mercy Hospital’s medical floor and onsite geriatric care center in Hallmar. Marcia got her RN degree from Kirkwood Community College in 1988, and again for her BSN in Nursing Administration. In 1995 she graduated from the College of St. Francis with her BS in Nursing. She completed a Master of Nursing Administration around 2005.

Outside of work and school, Marcia enjoyed motorcycle rides, camping, and house boating on the Coralville Reservoir and Hannen Lake in Iowa until Herb’s death in 2009. Marcia was a true follower of her children’s and grandchildren’s sports and activities. She took on all kinds of weather outside at track meets, football, soccer, baseball, and softball games. She sat through hundreds of basketball, wrestling, swimming, and ice skating events. She was an avid ice skating fan, never missing a competition on TV. When the Olympics were on she watched every event possible, cheering on the USA. In recent years, Marcia enjoyed going to concerts including Andre Bucceli, Queen, Keith Urban, Chicago, Bon Jovi, and Neil Diamond. She also loved to play cards with friends and family.

Marcia was preceded in death by her husband Herbert Dircks (2009), both of her parents, Cyril (2005) and Luella (1999) Boddicker, as well as both of her sisters, Marlys Boddicker (1946) and Dorothy Lou Lawton (Boddicker) (2016), and her niece Ann Lawton (2020).

Marcia leaves behind her son, Jason Dircks (Kimberly), grandchildren Declan, Natalia, and Gavin, all of Williamstown, N.J.; her daughter, Jennifer Reynolds (Joseph) and grandchildren Cyril Ballew (Thorne), Gabriel, Abigail, and Sofia, all of Rochester, Minn. She leaves nephews Douglas Lawton (Karen), Ronald Lawton (Jane), Todd Lawton (Amy), and niece Karin Lawton-Dunn, 10 great-nieces and -nephews, and nine great-great-nieces and -nephews.

Marcia retired and moved to Rochester, Minn., in 2012 to be closer to Jennifer and Joseph’s family. Planning for elderly care, Marcia, Jennifer and Joseph’s family moved into a larger house in 2020. Marcia wanted to see corn and flowers growing and eat fresh eggs in her last days. Jennifer and Joseph made that happen with a sweeping window view of fields and a flock of the cutest ducks waddling around the yard. Jennifer began planting Marcia’s favorite flowers in the sight line of Marcia’s bedroom window. After three years the garden includes daylilies, tulips, daffodils, and giant allium. Of all the plants, her very most favorite was the dinner plate hibiscus. When the yard was booming with fresh wild and planted flowers she most often preferred to leave them so that they could grow and multiply. In honor of this idea, we would like to add to Marcia’s flower garden to memorialize her love of enjoying flowers. Please consider sending a perennial flowering plant or gift card instead of fresh flowers or houseplants. Other memorial gifts may be made in her name to Rochester Figure Skating Club, 21 Elton Hills Drive NW, Rochester, MN 55902 or to YMCA Camp Wapsie, 2174 Wapsie Y Rd., Coggon, IA, 52218.

A visitation will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023, from 4 to 7 p.m. at Ranfranz and Vine Funeral Home (5421 Royal PL NW, Rochester, MN 55901).

A Funeral Mass will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023, at Pax Christi Catholic Church (4135 18th Ave, Rochester, MN) with visitation held one hour prior to the service at the church.

Another visitation will be held on Friday, Oct. 6, 2023 from 4 to 7 p.m. at Teahen Funeral Home (3100 F Avenue NW, Cedar Rapids, IA).

Interment will take place at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023, at Mount Calvary Cemetery (375 32nd Street Dr. SE, Cedar, Rapids, IA) with a celebration to follow at the nearby Irish Democrat Pub.

Ranfranz and Vine Funeral Homes is honored to be serving the Dircks family; to share a special memory or condolence, please visit www.ranfranzandvinefh.com.