Elsie Conway

Elsie Conway, 90, of Charles City, died Friday, February 19, 2010, at the 9th Street Chautauqua Guest Home in Charles City.

Funeral services for Elsie Conway will be held 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Hauser Funeral Home in Charles City. Pastor Mark Luckiesh of the Seventh Day Adventist Church will officiate. Burial will be in Sunnyside Memory Gardens rural Charles City.

Friends may call at the Hauser Funeral Home from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday and an hour prior to the service on Tuesday.

Elsie Mary Bill Conway was born February 23, 1919, at Roanoke, Ill., the daughter of Fred and Rosa (Davis) Bill. She was one year old when her parents moved to Iowa where they settled on a farm north of Colwell. She started her education at the Colwell School until her parents moved and she finished her education at the Cedar Township Country School. On August 30, 1942, she was united in marriage to Ward Conway at Bethany, Mo. Ward left on October 5, 1942, to serve in the United States Coast Guard. Following basic training his permanent base was Half Moon Bay, Calif. where she joined him immediately when she received the call that she could come. While there Elsie worked in public businesses, met many new people and friends who she has kept in contact with until her death. After Ward’s Discharge they came back to Iowa where they bought an acreage in the Carville vicinity. She then began employment at Charles City Manufacturing Company where she worked for many years. Die to Ward’s health they had to quit farming. After the sale they took a trip to the west coast to visit relatives and friends. When they returned they purchased a mobile home in Nashua and Elsie once again decided to seek employment. K Mart was just starting to take applications for their original store in Charles City so she put in her application and received a call to report to work. After 14 years with K Mart she decided to retire and move to Greene but didn’t like retirement so took partime employment with Lyle and Sylvia Schafer at their restaurant. At age 75 she decided it was time to retire for good. She was a member of the Seventh Day Adventist Church and V.F.W. Auxiliary in Charles City. She enjoyed crocheting, Knitting, embroidering and sewing. Elsie liked to play 500, bowling, pitching horse shoes, watching ball games and spending time with her family and friends.

Living family members include a step daughter, Dorothy Crandell of Mason City; five sisters, Violet (Jerald) Klassen of Belvidere, Ill., Grace Waddell, Myrtle Albrecht, Frieda (Bill) Hart, Arlene (Kenneth) Carr all of Charles City; and many nieces and nephews.

She leaves to join her loving husband Ward who died on January 19, 1981; her parents; sisters, Mae Mackamul, Florence Wells, Clara Parker, Dorothy Logan, Edith Weidner and Lois Bill who died in infancy; and four brothers, Ernest, Lester, Elmer and Harvey Bill.

Those planning an expression of sympathy may direct memorials to the Seventh Day Adventist Church or Hospice of North Iowa.

The Hauser Funeral Home, (641) 228-2323, www.hauserfh.com, in Charles City, is in charge of arrangements.