T. Marcella Swanson

T. Marcella Swanson died Wednesday, March 3, 2010, at St. Anne's Extended Healthcare in Winona, Minnesota, at the age of 89. Marcella was born September 30, 1920, in Newhall, Iowa, to Carl and Mabel (Allen) Swanson. She graduated from Shellsburg (Iowa) High School and attended Iowa State Teachers College in Cedar Falls, Iowa, for six months before beginning her teaching career at Lower Stone Rural School in Benton County, Iowa. She taught grades K through 8 for one year before returning to UNI to earn her two-year teaching certificate. She then spent two years at Wadena (Iowa) School and six years at Newhall (Iowa) Consolidated School teaching primary grades. In 1950, she moved to Waterloo, Iowa, and taught there until her retirement in 1986. She received her bachelor's degree from Iowa State Teachers College in 1955 and her master's degree in 1964 from the University of Colorado in Boulder. In 2000, Marcella moved to Callista Court in Winona, Minnesota, and later to St. Anne's. Marcella was a member of Delta Kappa Gamma, a professional honor society of women educators; Waterloo Women's Club; Blackhawk Retired Teachers; and Grace Baptist Church in Waterloo. She enjoyed traveling, photography, reading, doing needlepoint, and spending time with her family and friends. She is survived by a brother, Robert Swanson, of Lewiston, Minnesota; two nieces, Retha (Richard) Finger of Lewiston, Minnesota, and Pat (Ryland) Eichhorst of Dubuque, Iowa; five great-nieces, Patty Jo Finger of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Nicole Swanson of Rochester, Minnesota, Jana (Gregg) Poppe of Prior Lake, Minnesota, Traci (Samuel) Holloway of St. Louis, Missouri, and Sarah Finger of Alexandria, Virginia. She was preceded in death by her parents, and her sister-in-law, Lorna Swanson.Services will be held Wednesday, March 10, at 10:00 am at Hoff Funeral and Cremation Service in Lewiston, Minnesota.
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