Valeda Faye Abbey

April 17, 1934 – May 25, 2020

Valeda Faye Abbey, 86, Joice, passed away Monday, May 25, 2020, at the MercyOne North Iowa Hospice Inpatient Unit, Mason City.Memorial Services will be held at 2 p.m., Friday, May 29, at the Schott Funeral Chapel, Forest City, with Pastor Randy Baldwin officiating. Services will be livestreamed on the funeral home’s Facebook page.Burial of cremains will be held in Ellington Township Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the Valeda Abbey memorial fund in care of the family.
Valeda Faye (Ohlmann) Abbey was born April 17, 1934, on a farm near Ravenna, Neb., to parents Reinhold and Ethel (Shrader) Ohlmann. She was the oldest of four children. Valeda was baptized on May 13, 1934 in Nebraska. She was confirmed on March 21, 1948, at Zion Lutheran Church, Thompson.
Valeda served as a pianist for church and Sunday school at Zion Lutheran Church.
Valeda attended various schools in Nebraska and Iowa, and graduated in 1951 from Thompson High School. After high school, she worked for the Winnebago REA/RTA under Glenn Bergland and was the first billing clerk for the RTA.
She married Gene Abbey on Dec. 18, 1955, at Zion Lutheran Church, Thompson, and moved to the farm in rural Joice, where she made her home for the rest of her life. Gene and Valeda had two children: Carol and John.
Valeda spent much of her time as a mother and farm wife. She also enjoyed embroidery, gardening, baking, and watching sports. She was a detailed bookkeeper. After Gene retired from farming, Valeda worked at 3M, made lefse for Dixie Rauk, and delivered Winnebago motorhomes with Gene. She volunteered her time to help with numerous civic, school, and church activities, especially Mission Quilters at Salem Lutheran Church in Lake Mills, where she was a member.
Valeda is survived by her daughter, Carol Abbey, Lake Mills; her four grandchildren: Allison (James) Long, Findlay, Ohio; Erica Klipping, Parker, Colo.; Scott (Sophia) Abbey, Scarville; and Drake Abbey, Lake Mills; her five great-grandchildren: Ella, Braden, Owen, Violet, and Ada; her sister, Rosetta Bidne; her two brothers, Gary (Karen) Ohlmann and Roy (Beverly) Ohlmann; her sister-in-law, Wilma Lampman; her special family, Darla (Brad) Evenson, Amelia Evenson, and Hannah Evenson; and her many cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her beloved husband of nearly 50 years, Gene (2005); her son, John (1994); and her sister-in-law, Marjorie McKee.

Lake Mills Graphic

204 N. Mill Street
Lake Mills, IA 50450

Office Number: (641) 592-4222
Fax Number: (641) 592-6397

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