Oma Diane Powell (Michael)
August 29, 1910 — December 7, 2008
Oma Diane Michael Powell "was a fine lady". She died peacefully on December 7, 2008, at the age of 98, at her daughter's home in Salem, Oregon. Oma Powell was born on August 29, 1910 in Troy MIlls, Iowa to Ryal and Myrtie Michael. She spent her high school years in Los Angeles, CA. In the spring of 1929, she and her family returned to Iowa to face the challenges presented by the Great Depression. They, like many others during this time, lost their home and their family’s bank. Later that same year, on October 6, 1929, she married Harry G. Powell, Sr., a farmer, in Troy Mills, Iowa. She quickly adapted to life as a farmer's wife by learning to cook in front of ten hungry hired-men, saving "egg money" in a teapot for those rainy days, and adorning her yard with hollyhocks and tiger lilies. Her pie-making skills became the talk of the town!
Oma was a beloved teacher. She began teaching in a one-room country school house and later taught 7th grade at Troy Mills Community School for several years. She also gave itinerant piano lessons and used this money to help bring electricity to the family's farm. After Oma retired from teaching, she and her husband, Harry, left the farm and moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa where she worked at Collins Radio, now a subsidiary of Rockwell International.
Oma loved to learn and was an avid reader with an amazing vocabulary. She enjoyed completing crossword puzzles and reading the newspaper to keep up with world events. She managed to instill this respect for learning in all her grandchildren and admitted that she lived vicariously through them. She listened patiently as they recounted their adventures through life's ups and downs, world-wide travels and day-to-day activities. Her intelligence, fortitude, grace, and dignity truly provided the “wind beneath the wings" for her offspring.
Oma was preceded in death by her husband, Harry G. Powell, Sr. and her daughter, Ardys Powell Zimpfer. She is survived by her son, Harry G. Powell, Jr., of Troy Mills, Iowa, and her daughter, Necia Powell Hasbrook of Salem, Oregon; her sisters, Eileen Newman of Alburnett, Iowa, and Betty Cole, of Idyllwild, California and by eight grandchildren, nineteen great-grandchildren, and nine great- great-grandchildren.
Oma will be missed by all who loved her and knew her throughout her lifetime.
Services will be held at Troy Mills Christian Church in Troy Mills, Iowa on Saturday, December 20, 2008 at 10:30 a.m. Visitation will be from 4-7 p.m. Friday, December 19, at Murdoch Funeral Home & Cremation Center in Marion. Burial: Troy Mills Cemetery.
Donations can be made to Troy Mills Christian Church.
Oma was a beloved teacher. She began teaching in a one-room country school house and later taught 7th grade at Troy Mills Community School for several years. She also gave itinerant piano lessons and used this money to help bring electricity to the family's farm. After Oma retired from teaching, she and her husband, Harry, left the farm and moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa where she worked at Collins Radio, now a subsidiary of Rockwell International.
Oma loved to learn and was an avid reader with an amazing vocabulary. She enjoyed completing crossword puzzles and reading the newspaper to keep up with world events. She managed to instill this respect for learning in all her grandchildren and admitted that she lived vicariously through them. She listened patiently as they recounted their adventures through life's ups and downs, world-wide travels and day-to-day activities. Her intelligence, fortitude, grace, and dignity truly provided the “wind beneath the wings" for her offspring.
Oma was preceded in death by her husband, Harry G. Powell, Sr. and her daughter, Ardys Powell Zimpfer. She is survived by her son, Harry G. Powell, Jr., of Troy Mills, Iowa, and her daughter, Necia Powell Hasbrook of Salem, Oregon; her sisters, Eileen Newman of Alburnett, Iowa, and Betty Cole, of Idyllwild, California and by eight grandchildren, nineteen great-grandchildren, and nine great- great-grandchildren.
Oma will be missed by all who loved her and knew her throughout her lifetime.
Services will be held at Troy Mills Christian Church in Troy Mills, Iowa on Saturday, December 20, 2008 at 10:30 a.m. Visitation will be from 4-7 p.m. Friday, December 19, at Murdoch Funeral Home & Cremation Center in Marion. Burial: Troy Mills Cemetery.
Donations can be made to Troy Mills Christian Church.
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