Mary Louise Sanders

Mary Lou Sanders, 93, passed away peacefully on May 29 at Mary Greeley Hospital in Ames. She was born in rural Newell, Iowa on July 27, 1932 to George and Pearl Veerhusen. Her parents and older brother Darold lived on a farm where they grew corn and soybeans. Mary Lou always had a good farm story to tell, and she had many fond memories of her childhood on the farm from as young as three years of age.

Mary Lou graduated from high school at the age of 16 in 1949. She was so proud to tell everyone about her school days from being a clarinetist in the marching band, to being the salutatorian (second highest) in a class of eleven students. It always brought a laugh from anyone who she struck up conversation with.

On June 8, 1952, she married Joseph (Joe) Sanders in Fonda, Iowa. She then went to Commercial Extension Secretarial School in Omaha, Nebraska, and then worked in an office at Iowa State University while Joe went to college following his military service. They had their first daughter Cyndy in 1956, but then relocated to Bettendorf, Iowa where Joe’s job took them. Ten years later Jennie was born in 1966 and then Heather in 1970. In order to raise their children, Mary Lou stayed home to babysit for 28 years, ending in 1998 when Joe passed away. Many of the babysitting children enjoyed getting a treat out of her candy jar before they went home. These children who became adults would often visit her years later and they mentioned the candy they got. She was always supporting the needs of her family, church friends, babysitting children, and neighbors.

Mary Lou loved her social activities such as playing cards weekly at the Bettendorf Community Center, participating in her bowling league, and always helping at the Bettendorf Presbyterian Church, where she taught Sunday School in her earlier years and was involved in her Bible study. She volunteered to do many tasks at her church which were very important to her such as helping in the kitchen and preparing communion for over thirty years. At Christmas time, Mary Lou hosted a party at her house for all of her church friends and neighbors, making sure she baked 30 kinds of cookies and preparing her favorite meatballs for refreshments. These cookies were also mailed across the state to relatives to enjoy for the holidays.

Mary Lou was a lady of many talents. For Easter and Christmas every year, she made her daughters and granddaughters brand-new dresses to wear to church. Besides that, she was so proud that she was planting over 500 flowers in her garden every Spring until she was in her mid-80’s. In her free time, she would put together many jigsaw puzzles, and do crewel (stitchery work) so they could be framed for the living room. These pictures, along with her many collectibles were displayed in her house which highlighted 93 years of her life. A frequent joke with friends is that her house looked like a museum, with her stitcheries everywhere.

Mary Lou also took organ lessons and was the hit of the neighborhood when she purchased a large speaker, set it on the front porch, and played Christmas music to everyone around. In the summertime, neighbors enjoyed hearing the music through the screen door.

She was a big hit by everyone who needed mints for a wedding or other celebration. For her church, she often provided mints for special occasions, and word got around town about her talents, so she soon was making them for the public for a whopping 4 cents each. It cost her more than that for the ingredients.

Mary Lou also participated in all of her daughters’ school activities from coaching Heather’s 6th grade soccer team, to attending every band and choral concert, chaperoning many field trips, being the Room Mother at their elementary schools, and working in the concession stand during football games while the girls performed in the marching band. She looked forward to making popcorn and pouring hot chocolate on those chilly nights.

Volunteering in the community was something she enjoyed these later years. She would volunteer at Reiman Gardens in Ames besides participating in the Pen Pal program with elementary children in Story County.

When she reached her 70’s, she loved going on trips abroad with Heather where she had many exciting adventures. Just at the age of 72, she rode a horse in Costa Rica along a thin mountain edge, at 73, she snorkeled with sharks in the Great Barrier Reef, at 77 she managed to outmaneuver a caiman in the Galapagos Islands by climbing from one boat to another, and she also visited 9 Caribbean islands while on cruises. Mary Lou was always ready for another adventure. We often compared her to Lucille Ball, her favorite comedienne who she looked up to and wanted to follow.

One of her greatest joys was having three cats. Tommy and Delbert are both deceased now, but currently Raymond Charles was the highlight of her life. He will sorely miss her frequent rubs and attention.

The last 6 years Mary Lou suffered a lot of health issues, but she succumbed to aspiration pneumonia and the rhinovirus while in the hospital. While Mary Lou could usually survive anything that came her way, this health battle was one that defeated her. Heather was her sole caretaker for the past 3 1/2 years in Ankeny as she constantly battled every sickness. They were extremely close and she will be deeply missed by everyone who knew her.

Survivors include three daughters: Cyndy (Ken) Kaufman (both estranged), Ankeny; Jennie (Andy) Gervais, Des Moines and Heather Sanders (Tim Garner), Ankeny; along with six granddaughters: Samantha, Barrie, Lauren, and Abigail (all estranged), Bridget (Griffin), Elk Horn, and Camille (Jay), St Joseph, Missouri; niece Laurie (Carl) Wilcox, Storm Lake; their two children Andrea and Matthew, and nephew Dan (Sara) Veerhusen, Cedar Rapids, and her beloved cat Raymond Charles.

Preceding Mary Lou in death is husband Joseph Sanders; father and mother George and Pearl Veerhusen; and brother and sister-in-law Darold and Rosalie Veerhusen.