Lila Megchelsen

Lila Marie (French) Megchelsen, age 85, of Marengo, Iowa, formerly of Ainsworth, Iowa, died Thursday, August 28, 2014, at Marengo Memorial Hospital in Marengo, Iowa. Funeral services will be held Tuesday, September 2, 2014 at 10:30 a.m. at the Jones & Eden Funeral Home with Pastor Jeff DeBoer officiating. Visitation will begin 2:00 p.m. Monday, September 1, 2014 at the Jones & Eden Funeral Home where the family will receive friends from 4:00 until 7:00 p.m.. Interment will take place at the Oregon Township Cemetery in Ainsworth, Iowa. Memorials have been established for Essence of Life Hospice or to the Marengo Memorial Hospital Foundation. Online condolences may be sent for Lila’s family through the web at www.jonesfh.com. Lila was born July 29, 1929 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the daughter of Dr. Paul O. and Lily (Sinclair) French. She graduated from Franklin High School in Cedar Rapids in 1947 and earned a B.A. degree from Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, in 1951. She later earned a Masters Degree in Social Work from Washington University in St. Louis in 1957. Her early adult life was spent working for children’s agencies in Des Moines and Plainfield, New Jersey where she was involved in foster care and adoption placement. She was united in marriage to Robert Megchelsen on November 9, 1963 in Cedar Rapids. They made their home in rural Ainsworth until 1994 when they retired from the farm and moved to Washington, Iowa. After being at home to raise her children, Lila returned to work as a social service consultant at the Washington Care Center, United Presbyterian Home and Halcyon House in Washington, retiring in 1995. She was an active member of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in Washington where she taught Sunday school for many years, and later a member of the Hope Evangelical Church in North Liberty. She was also a member of the Rural Carrier’s Auxiliary, The Sorosis Club at Ainsworth and the American Legion Auxiliary. She enjoyed doing counted cross stitch, reading, crossword and jigsaw puzzles and spending time with her family and grandchildren. She is survived by three children; son, Jim Megchelsen and wife Trish of North Aurora, Illinois; daughter, Ann Mattes and husband Dave of Muscatine, Iowa; son, Tom Megchelsen and wife Jalene of Marengo, Iowa; nine grandchildren: Rebecca, Jessica, Alicia and Joshua Megchelsen; Sasha and Ethan Mattes; and Thad, Jalise and Jestine Megchelsen; and one sister, Donna Neel and husband Robert of Goldendale, WA. She was preceded in death by her parents, and her husband, Robert in 2007.

Lila Megchelsen

July 29, 1929 - August 28, 2014