Iola Magdalina Stark

Iola Stark, age 103, of Alexandria, died Saturday, April 25, 2015. A funeral service will be held 11 AM Monday, May 4, 2015 at the Calvary Lutheran Church in Alexandria.. Interment will be in the Aeneas Cemetery in Swan Lake Township. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at church. Memorials are preferred to Bethany Home in Alexandria, Calvary Lutheran Church or Aeneas Cemetery. Arrangements are with Anderson Funeral Home. OBITUARY Iola Magdalina Maanum was born December 13, 1911 in Swan Lake Township, MN, the daughter of Albert and Marie (Lee) Maanum. She was raised on the family farm in Swan Lake and attended country school at District 34 graduating from the West Central School of Agriculture in Morris. On June 20, 1934 Iola was united in marriage to Virgil Stark. The couple made their home in rural Kensington, MN and were blessed with two children, Mervin and JaVane. When Iola’s children were still very young, Virgil died. She remained unmarried and continued to raise her children. Life became very hard for Iola and her family but she persevered. With time things began to improve as she worked as switchboard operator for the telephone company. After several years with the telephone company Iola moved to Alexandria, MN and took a job as an assistant to Dr. Heegaard. She worked with Dr. Heegaard for almost twenty years. During this time her life improved dramatically. She loved people and enjoyed the opportunity to work with and get to know Dr. Heegaard’s patients and their families. After retiring she kept busy as a dispatcher for the Taxi in Alexandria. Volunteering was important to Iola. She was a resident for over thirty years at Bethel Manor and that put her in the ideal position to volunteer her time to Bethany Home. She operated the greeting card and craft sales shop at Bethel Manor. Iola spent time caring for gardens at Bethel Manor and cutting quilt squares at Bethany Home. Iola received recognition for volunteering over five thousand hours of her time to the Bethany Community. Though life had been hard at times, Iola always held a positive outlook on life. Being with people was important to Iola. She enjoyed going to the mall and just visiting with the people she met there. She enjoyed playing cards because she could visit with others. She was a kind and caring person. The people she was most interested in were her children. She was very proud of them and they were very proud of her. She was a woman of strong faith and always began her day by praying for her family. On Saturday, April 25, 2015 Iola died at the age of one hundred three years. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Virgil Stark; one brother, Orlin Maanum; two sisters, Pearl Dehne and Mildred Maanum, and son-in-law, Dale Moberg. Iola is survived by her son, Mervin Stark and wife, Carolyn, of Plymouth, MN; her daughter, JaVane Moberg of Brooklyn Park, MN; grandchildren; Randy Moberg and wife, Melissa, Kevin Moberg and wife, Amy, Craig Stark and wife, Virginia, John Stark and wife, Teri, and Pamela Harvey and husband, David Harvey; great grandchildren, Joshua Moberg and wife, Cecily, Tyler Moberg and wife, Jessie, Michael Moberg, Chelsea Agrimson and husband Andrew, Natalie Moberg, Sara Stark, Jack Stark, Tharen Harvey, Treyvon Harvey, and Tyeyana Harvey; great-great grandchildren, Alexis Moberg, Isabel Moberg, Lauren Moberg, Noah Moberg and Adalyn Moberg. The family wishes to express deep gratitude to the staff at Bethany Home, where she so appreciated getting to know the staff and received wonderful love and care. A funeral service will be held 11 AM Monday, May 4, 2015 at the Calvary Lutheran Church in Alexandria. Interment will be in the Aeneas Cemetery in Swan Lake Township. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at church. Memorials are preferred to Calvary Lutheran, Aeneas Cemetery or Bethany Home in Alexandria. Arrangements are with Anderson Funeral Home.

Iola Magdalina Stark

December 13, 1911 - April 25, 2015