Verna Mae Wilson

VERNA MAE WILSON MUSCATINE, Iowa - Verna Mae Wilson, 79, of Muscatine, died Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2004, at Unity Hospital. Memorial Service will be held 11 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2004, at the First Presbyterian Church, 401 Iowa Ave. Rev. Michael Spangler and Dr. Pamela Saturnia will officiate. After the service a luncheon will be served at the church. Inurnment will be in Greenwood Cemetery at a later date. There will be no visitation and the Ralph J. Wittich-Riley-Freers Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements. Memorials may be made to the First Presbyterian Church or Habitat of Muscatine. Mrs. Wilson was born on March 30, 1924, in Wahpeton, North Dakota, the daughter of Emil and Gayl Will Benson. She married Robert H. Wilson on September 6, 1947, in Iowa City. She was raised in Keams Canyon, Arizona, on the Hopi Reservation. Verna Mae graduated from Wasatch Academy, Mt. Pleasant, Utah, in 1942; and the University of Iowa in 1947, with a Batchelor of Science in Nursing. She was a school nurse in the 1950's and then worked for Dr. Asthalter. She also worked for the University of Iowa Coronary Risk Factor Project in Muscatine until her retirement....[more]

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She was a member of the First Presbyterian Church joining on June 26, 1949, becoming an Elder in 1985. She served in many capacities including the Wellness Committee and enjoyed fun times with the Popcorn and Theology Group and other church family activities. She was a charter member of the GFWC Keystone Federated Club, a member of the T.T.T. Society Chapter DV; Bridge Club; Habitat Board; Keystone Monthly Breakfast; and the First Friday Lunch Group. Survivors include a son, Harold C. Wilson and wife, Judy, of Muscatine; a daughter, Carolyn S. Riedel and husband, Dennis, of Muscatine; five grandchildren, Janelle Wilson and Andrew Wilson, both of Muscatine, Sarah Riedel, Arlington, Texas, and Matthew and Steven Riedel, both of Muscatine; one brother, Elbert "Skip" Benson and wife, Barbara, of Alameda, California; one sister, Bobbie Overby and husband, George, of Tempe, Arizona; one sister-in-law, Mary Price of Plano, Texas; two nieces, Jo Lewis of Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, and DeLynn K. Price-Davis of Dallas, Texas; three nephews, Dr. Chris Overby and Mark Larsen of Port Washington, New York, Joel Benson and wife, Justine, and their daughter, Iris, of San Francisco, and Blaine Benson and wife, Jerrie, of Brooklyn, New York; a great niece, Meredith Robbins and husband, James, and their daughter, Sidney, of Gilbert, Arizona; and a special friend, Ernie Root of Muscatine. She was preceded in death by her parents and husband, Robert, in 1981.