Marlene Joyce Wagner
Marlene Joyce Wagner
Williamsburg
Marlene Joyce Wagner, 91, of Williamsburg, passed away at Compass Memorial Hospital on Sept. 1, 2023. She was under hospice care and surrounded by loved ones.
Born Nov. 2, 1931, to Ralph and Grayce Wagner, she was the eldest of nine children. She graduated from Oxford High School and after meeting her lifelong partner Vernon Meade at a dance, they married in 1952. They farmed in Cosgrove and Windham where they began their family, which would eventually culminate in nine children. In 1968 they moved to the “town” of Williamsburg. During those years, besides being a devoted and busy wife and mother, Marlene worked numerous jobs to include Collins Radio, Pepperidge Farms, Proctor and Gamble, Colony Village and Seven Villages. In 1981 they moved to Austin, Texas, where Marlene worked for the University of Texas for 12 years before returning to their “roots’ in Iowa. Not one to sit still, she returned to work part time at VF Factory Outlet until the age of 75 when she was awarded “Employee of the Year.” Marlene was a member of St. Michael’s and St. Mary’s Catholic Church and Altar and Rosary Society.
Family was her passion and she thoroughly enjoyed time spent with her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, siblings and extended family. In 2017, she moved to Highland Ridge where she thoroughly embraced the lifestyle there, renewing old friendships, making new friends and was involved in every card game, activity (especially Bingo) and outing she could fit in her schedule. After suffering a stroke in February 2023, she put up a valiant fight to regain her strength and mobility.
She leaves behind five daughters, Barb Thomas, Tiffin, Iowa, Sandra Townsend (Carl Martin) Georgetown, Texas, Mary (Bob) Maxwell, Georgetown, Texas, Peg (Bill) Hay, Round Rock, Texas, and Lisa (Brian) Carr, Georgetown, Texas; son, Paul Meade, Cedar Rapids, Iowa; and daughters-in law-Diane (Dan) Dvorak, Iowa City, Iowa, Gale (Dave) Van Hauen, North Liberty, Iowa, and Patty Meade, Oxford, Iowa. She was grandmother to 15 and great-grandmother to 15. Her surviving siblings include Jo Kahler, Jim (Judy) Wagner, Daryl Wagner, Kathy Bender; sisters-in-law, Mary Wagner, Thelma Wagner, Leola Wagner, Shirley Meade and Marge Sauter; and 47 nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Vernon; sons, Bob, Terry and Mark; son-in-law, Gary Thomas; and siblings, Robert Wagner, Richard Wagner, Gordon Wagner and Elaine Meade.
A funeral Mass will be held 10 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 7, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Williamsburg. Burial will be at St. Michaels Cemetery in Holbrook. Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 6, with an altar and rosary prayer service beginning at 4 p.m. at Powell Funeral Home in Williamsburg. Powell Funeral Home in Williamsburg is caring for Marlene and her family.
A memorial fund has been established for Essence of Life Hospice and St. Mary’s Altar and Rosary Society. Messages and tributes may be left at www.powellfuneralhome.com.