Mary Evelyn Meggers (Prenosil)
November 20, 1915 — February 5, 2012
Mary Evelyn Meggers, 96, of Walker, went to the Lord February 5, 2012. A visitation will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, February 9, 2012, at the Sacred Heart Parish Center, Walker. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, February 10, 2012, at Walker United Methodist Church in Walker, Iowa. Rev. Norman Kelly will officiate. Burial: Walker Cemetery, Walker. Arrangements by Murdoch Funeral Home & Cremation Service, Walker, Iowa.
Mary was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, at her grandmother’s house across the street from Mercy Hospital on November 20, 1915, to Joseph J. and Jennie E. (Miller) Prenosil. She spent her youth on farms in Linn and Benton Counties, where she learned to milk, chore, haul wood, and work in the fields. She would plow with a team of four horses and later was trusted to drive a tractor. Mary graduated from Independence High School in 1933. She then went onto Iowa State Teachers College (now UNI) and graduated in 1934. She taught at various rural Iowa schools until the spring of 1943 at which time she became a substitute teacher in San Antonio, Texas. Mary married Don J. Meggers on June 28, 1942, at Camp Claiborne, Lousianna. Following Don’s discharge in 1945, they had a difficult time finding a place to live at the end of World War II, but eventually settled in Walker in 1946. In 1949, they purchased the house which became a home to their children, eight boys and one girl. Following the death of her husband, Don, in June 1965, Mary worked at the lumber yard in town, then as a teacher’s helper at Walker School. In 1967, she was appointed Postmaster at Walker where she worked until retirement in 1986. Mary read and listened to children in elementary grades at Walker School for 23 years. It was one of her greatest joys. She was also involved in Volunteers in Missions, in which she took 10 trips to such places as the Philippines, Guatamala, Jamaica, and Belize. In 1996, Mary received the Governor’s Award for Works in Volunteerism.
Mary loved children and people. She never met a stranger or person she could not talk to. Mary was involved in Cub Scouts, Sunday School Teaching, The Walker United Methodist Church, American Legion Auxiliary, General Federation of Women’s Clubs, Walker Historical Society, and the community of Walker.
Mary was preceded in death by her husband (Don), parents (Joseph and Jennie), brother (Joseph A. Prenosil), and infant brother (Harl).
Survivors include her children, Donald (Rosie) Meggers, Richard (Nancy) Meggers, Michael (Jane) Meggers, David (Mary Jo) Meggers, Dennis Meggers, Kathie (Kenneth) Duesenberg, Paul (Janise) Meggers, Kenneth (Victoria) Meggers, and Kevin Meggers; twenty-one grandchildren, and seventeen great-grandchildren.
Let us not grieve but celebrate Mary’s life.
In lieu of flowers, a memorial fund has been established in her name.
Mary was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, at her grandmother’s house across the street from Mercy Hospital on November 20, 1915, to Joseph J. and Jennie E. (Miller) Prenosil. She spent her youth on farms in Linn and Benton Counties, where she learned to milk, chore, haul wood, and work in the fields. She would plow with a team of four horses and later was trusted to drive a tractor. Mary graduated from Independence High School in 1933. She then went onto Iowa State Teachers College (now UNI) and graduated in 1934. She taught at various rural Iowa schools until the spring of 1943 at which time she became a substitute teacher in San Antonio, Texas. Mary married Don J. Meggers on June 28, 1942, at Camp Claiborne, Lousianna. Following Don’s discharge in 1945, they had a difficult time finding a place to live at the end of World War II, but eventually settled in Walker in 1946. In 1949, they purchased the house which became a home to their children, eight boys and one girl. Following the death of her husband, Don, in June 1965, Mary worked at the lumber yard in town, then as a teacher’s helper at Walker School. In 1967, she was appointed Postmaster at Walker where she worked until retirement in 1986. Mary read and listened to children in elementary grades at Walker School for 23 years. It was one of her greatest joys. She was also involved in Volunteers in Missions, in which she took 10 trips to such places as the Philippines, Guatamala, Jamaica, and Belize. In 1996, Mary received the Governor’s Award for Works in Volunteerism.
Mary loved children and people. She never met a stranger or person she could not talk to. Mary was involved in Cub Scouts, Sunday School Teaching, The Walker United Methodist Church, American Legion Auxiliary, General Federation of Women’s Clubs, Walker Historical Society, and the community of Walker.
Mary was preceded in death by her husband (Don), parents (Joseph and Jennie), brother (Joseph A. Prenosil), and infant brother (Harl).
Survivors include her children, Donald (Rosie) Meggers, Richard (Nancy) Meggers, Michael (Jane) Meggers, David (Mary Jo) Meggers, Dennis Meggers, Kathie (Kenneth) Duesenberg, Paul (Janise) Meggers, Kenneth (Victoria) Meggers, and Kevin Meggers; twenty-one grandchildren, and seventeen great-grandchildren.
Let us not grieve but celebrate Mary’s life.
In lieu of flowers, a memorial fund has been established in her name.
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