Nita Lee Taggart
November 26, 1929 — October 18, 2018
Nita Lee Taggart, 88, of Alburnett, Iowa, formerly of Clarinda, Iowa, passed away on Thursday, October 18, 2018, at the Hiawatha Care Center in Hiawatha, Iowa. Two visitations will be held. The first will be held in Marion, Iowa, on Thursday, October 25, 2018, at the Murdoch Funeral Home & Cremation Service from 4 p.m. – 7 p.m. The second will be held in Clarinda, Iowa, on Friday, October 26, 2018, at the Ritchie Funeral Home from 5 p.m. – 8 p.m. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, October 27, 2018, at the College Springs Presbyterian Church in College Springs, Iowa, with graveside services to follow at the Maple Hill Cemetery in College Springs, Iowa. Memorials may be directed to the family in Nita’s memory.
Nita was born on November 26, 1929, to Jacob D. and Tessie L. Haye in Morganton, North Carolina. During Nita’s first year, her and her family moved to Priest River, Idaho, where she would grew up with one sister, Blanche. She graduated from Rathdrum High School. Nita attended Whitworth College in Spokane, Washington where she earned two degrees, a BA and BS in Education. While she attended college she worked three years as a Relief Clerk for Northern Pacific Freight Office in Spokane, Washington and 1 summer as a Legal Secretary for McNaughton and Sanderson Law Firm in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. This would fund her college and when Nita graduated from Whitworth College in 1953, she landed her first teaching job as a 3rd Grade teacher at Harrington Elementary in Harrington, Washington. Nita would stay there for three years before she took a 3rd Grade position at Broadway Elementary Spokane Valley Schools in 1956.
In 1957, she met an Iowa farmer by the name of John Albert Taggart and they were married the following year on June, 15, 1958. She moved to the Taggart family farm near Clarinda, Iowa, where they raised three children, Beth, David and Esther. Nita was very active in the community and the College Springs Presbyterian Church in College Springs, Iowa. In 1988, her husband, John passed away after a long battle with Alzheimer's Disease. Nita lived on the farm until 2011, when she moved to Alburnett but still continued to manage the farm operations until 2016. After John’s death, she started to focus on a “second career” in areas that were of interest to her. She served on the Page County Board of Review as a member and clerk for several years during the 1980’s. In 1990, Nita was appointed by the Governor of Iowa to the Iowa State City Development Board that oversees city annexations. She served on this board for 12 years. During these years, Nita also served on the Farm Bureau District Women’s Committee and was the State Women’s Committee Chairman for several years. In her spare time, she became very interested in family history and genealogy. Nita has written several books documenting her discoveries over the years and enjoyed meeting new relatives because of her research.
Nita’s honors and accomplishments extend far beyond what can be listed but some of those she was most
proud of where: Page County Homemaker of the Year in 1990, Master Farm Homemaker in 1994, serving two consecutive (6 year) Iowa Senate approved terms on the State City Board of Development and receiving the 4-H Alumni Award in 1986.
One of Nita’s last wishes was to communicate how thankful she was to have met so many great people that touched her life in ways that are beyond words. She truly lived a blessed life and because of her strong faith in God, she looked forward to the next chapter in celebrating with all her loved ones gone before her in Heaven.
Nita is survived by her three children, Beth L. Taggart of Cedar Rapids, David J. Taggart of Alburnett and Esther (Scott) Kremer of Alburnett; two grandchildren, Morgan Kremer of North Liberty and Dillon Kremer of Alburnett; her niece, Liana Neal of Scottsdale, Arizona; her nephew, Johnny (Doris) Fernandes of Underwood, Iowa; and several cousins.
She was preceded in death by her husband John; her parents, Tessi and Jacob Haye; her sister, Blanche Holmes; her brother-in-law, Bob Holmes; her sister-in-law, Mary Fernandes; her brother-in-law, Gene Fernandes; and numerous cousins that she loved dearly.
Please share a memory of Nita at www.murdochfuneralhome.com under obituaries.
Nita was born on November 26, 1929, to Jacob D. and Tessie L. Haye in Morganton, North Carolina. During Nita’s first year, her and her family moved to Priest River, Idaho, where she would grew up with one sister, Blanche. She graduated from Rathdrum High School. Nita attended Whitworth College in Spokane, Washington where she earned two degrees, a BA and BS in Education. While she attended college she worked three years as a Relief Clerk for Northern Pacific Freight Office in Spokane, Washington and 1 summer as a Legal Secretary for McNaughton and Sanderson Law Firm in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. This would fund her college and when Nita graduated from Whitworth College in 1953, she landed her first teaching job as a 3rd Grade teacher at Harrington Elementary in Harrington, Washington. Nita would stay there for three years before she took a 3rd Grade position at Broadway Elementary Spokane Valley Schools in 1956.
In 1957, she met an Iowa farmer by the name of John Albert Taggart and they were married the following year on June, 15, 1958. She moved to the Taggart family farm near Clarinda, Iowa, where they raised three children, Beth, David and Esther. Nita was very active in the community and the College Springs Presbyterian Church in College Springs, Iowa. In 1988, her husband, John passed away after a long battle with Alzheimer's Disease. Nita lived on the farm until 2011, when she moved to Alburnett but still continued to manage the farm operations until 2016. After John’s death, she started to focus on a “second career” in areas that were of interest to her. She served on the Page County Board of Review as a member and clerk for several years during the 1980’s. In 1990, Nita was appointed by the Governor of Iowa to the Iowa State City Development Board that oversees city annexations. She served on this board for 12 years. During these years, Nita also served on the Farm Bureau District Women’s Committee and was the State Women’s Committee Chairman for several years. In her spare time, she became very interested in family history and genealogy. Nita has written several books documenting her discoveries over the years and enjoyed meeting new relatives because of her research.
Nita’s honors and accomplishments extend far beyond what can be listed but some of those she was most
proud of where: Page County Homemaker of the Year in 1990, Master Farm Homemaker in 1994, serving two consecutive (6 year) Iowa Senate approved terms on the State City Board of Development and receiving the 4-H Alumni Award in 1986.
One of Nita’s last wishes was to communicate how thankful she was to have met so many great people that touched her life in ways that are beyond words. She truly lived a blessed life and because of her strong faith in God, she looked forward to the next chapter in celebrating with all her loved ones gone before her in Heaven.
Nita is survived by her three children, Beth L. Taggart of Cedar Rapids, David J. Taggart of Alburnett and Esther (Scott) Kremer of Alburnett; two grandchildren, Morgan Kremer of North Liberty and Dillon Kremer of Alburnett; her niece, Liana Neal of Scottsdale, Arizona; her nephew, Johnny (Doris) Fernandes of Underwood, Iowa; and several cousins.
She was preceded in death by her husband John; her parents, Tessi and Jacob Haye; her sister, Blanche Holmes; her brother-in-law, Bob Holmes; her sister-in-law, Mary Fernandes; her brother-in-law, Gene Fernandes; and numerous cousins that she loved dearly.
Please share a memory of Nita at www.murdochfuneralhome.com under obituaries.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Nita Lee Taggart, please visit our flower store.