Nellie Monroe

Nellie Monroe

April 15, 1916 – July 15, 2011
Grinnell, Iowa

Visitation: 9:00 a.m. until 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, July 19, 2011 at Smith Funeral Home in Grinnell
Funeral Service: 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, July 19, 2011 at Smith Funeral Home in Grinnell
Interment: following her service on Tuesday, July 19, 2011 at Hazelwood Cemetery in Grinnell

Memorials: Grace Community Church, 511 – 6th Avenue, Grinnell, Iowa 50112.

Nellie was born on April 15, 1916 to George Washington Askea and Lucy Cook in Washington, Iowa. She was raised in Washington and graduated from Washington High School with the class of 1934. Her family was musically inclined and she played the piano and accordion in the family band. Nellie received her teacher’s certificate from the University of Iowa.

She was united in marriage to Clifford Monroe in 1936 at the Keokuk County Courthouse in Sigourney. Following their marriage, they resided in Iowa City and Nellie was a homemaker. The couple moved to Grinnell and she worked in the housekeeping department at Grinnell College for seventeen years. She was a member of the Grace Community Church in Grinnell.

Nellie’s family was her life. She was an excellent cook who enjoyed preparing meals for her family to enjoy, especially on the holidays. She dearly loved her grandchildren and great grandchildren. Her other enjoyments were being outdoors feeding the squirrels and rabbits and tending to her flower garden, listening to Music In The Park on Thursday evenings, dancing, and going to horse shows.

Nellie is survived by her children, Gerald Monroe of DeSoto, Iowa, Pat Guckert of Grinnell, Jim (Linda) Monroe of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Steven (Kim DiMaria) Monroe of Des Moines, Iowa; 8 grandchildren; 10 great grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Clifford Monroe on October 4, 1971; her brothers, Herbert and Albert Askea; and her sisters, Mable Thatcher, Hazel Lamp, Verna O’Brien, and Grace Kling.

Source: Smith Funeral Home