Committed to Serving
The Mitchell Family Funeral Home staff is active in the Marshalltown and central Iowa community. We know the pain death can cause and are here to walk this journey with you and to help with the healing process. We have a special place in our hearts for caring for the living and the dead. Our staff will personally take care of all funeral details, regardless of location.
.jpg)
I was born and raised in Marshalltown, graduating from the Marshalltown High School and MCC. Later, I graduated from the Worsham College of Mortuary Science in Des Plaines, IL.
After 17 years of employment with Estel-Perrin-Avey Funeral Home in Marshalltown, my wife Sue and I were able to follow a dream of owning our own funeral home. We began building in September of 2004 and opened in March of 2005. Sue was able to see our beginnings, but sadly I lost her to an 18 month battle with cancer in September of 2005.
I am the father of two children- Stephanie Mitchell who is an RN at Unity Point in Marshalltown and Myles who attends MHS. My parents Dean and Mary still live in the house I grew up in on North 10th Street. My sister Marna is married and lives in Baxter. Stephanie is a proud mom to Haley Sue.
I enjoy traveling, reading, animals, history and my two dogs, Yoda (Pekingese) and Cewie (Pomeranian). Truthfully, even after 30 years, I still love to go to work and treasure the families I have met on the way. I also thoroughly enjoy the boards I serve on and the memberships I have as well.
Rich Green was born and raised in Des Moines, Iowa, graduating from North High School in Des Moines in 1998. He was in the business field for 10 years before realizing his true passion was to help people. Rich became a Tissue Recovery Coordinator with the Iowa Donor Network, and then went on to DMACC to get his degree to be a Funeral Director. Rich completed his Internship with Mitchell Family Funeral Home and as of August of 2013 he became a Licensed Funeral Director. Rich also obtained his Insurance License in September of 2013 and takes care of the pre-need funeral arrangements. He feels very much honored to work at Mitchell Family Funeral home and enjoys serving the Marshall County communities. Rich and his wife, Ali (Kjormoe), a native of Marshalltown, live in Ankeny with their son, Brecken and dogs Winston and Sully. In his spare time, Rich enjoys watching sports, whether it is the Atlanta Falcons or the Cyclones and enjoys video games. Rich is a member of the American Society of Embalmers, Iowa Funeral Directors Association, and National Funeral Directors Association. He and his wife are also involved in the Animal Rescue League Foster Care program and open their home to animals in need.
Shannon Bowers was born in Marshalltown and grew up in Gilman. He graduated from East Marshall High School in 2000. After graduating high school, Shannon got a job working for a local funeral home as an assistant. After earning his Associates of Arts degree from Marshalltown Community College he enrolled in Mortuary school at DMACC in Ankeny. Shannon graduated from Mortuary school earning his degree in mortuary science in 2008. After completing his internship in eastern, Iowa, Shannon returned to Marshalltown to work with Mitchell Family Funeral Home to serve the community he calls home. Shannon lives in Marshalltown with his wife Casey and three wonderful children. He has been a Certified Reserve Police Officer for the State Center Police Department as well as the Toledo Police Department since 2013. He loves spending time with his family and friends. He is also an avid Minnesota Vikings fan. Shannon is a member of the Iowa Funeral Directors Association and National Funeral Directors Association.
Jordan Cline was born and raised in Marshalltown, Iowa to Jeff Cline (Dawn Cline) and Mindy Buschbom (Ian Buschbom). He graduated from Marshalltown High School in the class of 2012. Upon graduation Jordan moved to Ankeny, Iowa to attend DMACC to obtain his degree in Mortuary Science graduating in the class of 2017. Jordan began working at Mitchell Family Funeral Home in January 2019 to complete his internship and is looking forward to becoming fully licensed in July 2019. Jordan is proud to be able to call Marshalltown home once again. In his free time Jordan enjoys spending time with his family including all 5 of his siblings: Taylor Cline, Layla Buschbom, Avery Buschbom, Bryer Cline and Keegan Cline, going to the movies, and hanging out with friends.
Lauren was born and raised in Cedar Falls, IA, graduating in 2005 from Cedar Falls High School. She then obtained her bachelor’s degree from the University of Northern Iowa. She moved to Marshalltown in 2012 and now considers it to be home. Lauren is busy raising her two young boys, Jack and Camden. She joined our staff May 2020 to work as a liaison for the families we serve. She is very passionate about making people feel welcome and known. In her free time, Lauren enjoys running, yoga, cooking, reading, music and spending time outdoors.
Britt was born and raised in Gladbrook, IA and continues to reside there today. She graduated from Gladbrook-Reinbeck High School in 2012. She attended college at Kaplan University in Cedar Falls and graduated with an Associates Degree in Business Administration. In her free time she enjoys the outdoors, spending time with family, friends and her dogs. Britt joined Mitchell Family Funeral Home in February of 2020 with a personal understanding of loss and grief after losing her own dad in 2013. Her desire is to always provide comfort and compassion to those families we serve in their time of loss.
Jeff was born and raised in Marshalltown and Brenda (Kellogg) in Garwin. They have one daughter, Jaime. Jeff works full-time at Marshalltown High School. Brenda was in the child care profession for 23 years before joining the MFFH Staff in August 2005.Jeff and Brenda work at the funeral home in many capacities, including visitations, services, maintenance, and flower delivery. Serving each family as though they were their own, Jeff and Brenda are honored be be a part of the MFFH Team. Jeff enjoys fishing, hunting and the outdoors. Brenda enjoys photography and assisting families with photographic memorials.
Doloris moved to Marshalltown in 1998, three years after her husband Charlie passed away. She worked in retail for 30 years and the most rewarding part of that was meeting people. Her family consists of two sons, a daughter, two grandsons, two granddaughters, two great-grandsons and two great-granddaughters. Her family means the world to her.
Doug and Julie Riley, long-time residents of State Center, assist Mitchell Family Funeral Home with visitations and services held at the well-equipped West Marshall Chapel located on Historic Main Street in State Center. Doug is currently employed at Burke Marketing in Nevada and plans to retire at year end. Julie is employed full time at Central State Bank as Accounting Manager. They have three children and seven grandchildren. They like baseball, golfing, bike riding and playing with their grandchildren.
Karen Shipley-Cooper lives in Marshalltown with her husband, John, and is a very active part of our community. After being employed by Fisher Controls for over 35 years, Karen spends much of her time volunteering with many organizations including the United Way, Iowa River Hospice, Optimists, Quakerdale and First Friends Church. Karen is currently the Chapter Leader for the Marshalltown Compassionate Friends.
Gary Shirk, son of Dale and Gladys Shirk, was born and raised in the Albion and Marshalltown area and married to Kay Hurtt in 1967. They raised two children, Jason and Damie and have seven grandchildren. Gary worked for Fisher Controls for 31 years, Walt Disney World for 7 years and Marquart Concrete Products for 6 years. After retiring from full time employment, Gary feels very fortunate to work part time with Mitchell Family Funeral Home, where he helps families and their loved ones in their time of need.
David D. Sturtz was born and raised around the Gilman, Iowa area. Dave and his wife, Norma, recently celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary. They were blessed with two children; Brenda Carnahan of Marshalltown & Scott Sturtz of Pleasant Hill. Dave thoroughly enjoys spending time with his six grandchildren. He is a member of the New Hope Christian Church. Dave owned and operated Standard Oil tank wagon service in Central Iowa from 1965-1980. After 11 years working at Maytag in Newton, he owned and operated a pest control business until his retirement in 2011, at which time he joined with Mitchell Family Funeral Home on a part time basis. Dave is a people oriented person and enjoys working with the staff at Mitchell’s as they are a loving and caring staff and so considerate and caring of the people they serve.
Nic Randall is a lifelong resident of Marshalltown and married to Ginna Vaughn in 2004. They have four boys: Myles, Kade, Eli, and Henry. Nic and his family are members of New Hope Christian Church. In his free time, Nic enjoys fishing, spending time with his family and going to the boys sporting events. Nic began working at Mitchell Family Funeral Home in 2015 and feels blessed to help in the care of the families we serve.
Kris Davison and her husband Gregg, joined the Marshalltown community in 1985. They have 3 grown children, Christian Davison, Brandon Davison and Minda Kuckuck. Their 5 grandchildren keep any free time filled with fun! Kris worked for the Marshalltown Community School District for 30 years. After her retirement she joined the staff of Mitchell’s. A job she loves!
Jim Bonser and his wife, Deb, live south of Le Grand in the parsonage at Stavanger Friends Church where Jim has served as pastor since 2006. Jim received a B.A. from Central Bible College, which is where he met his wife. After graduating, Jim and Deb served the Lord in Michigan as pastors to the deaf before returning to Iowa in 1981 after the birth of their first daughter. Jim and Deb have three children and six grandchildren. Before accepting the call to return to the ministry to serve as pastor at Stavanger Friends, Jim worked as a computer programmer for almost 20 years. Jim feels blessed to be able to work part time at Mitchell Family Funeral Home and is grateful for the opportunities that working at Mitchell's gives him to help people during a difficult time.
Steve was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where he was raised until relocating to Minneapolis, Minnesota, which is where his love for ice hockey and skiing began. In 1975 he moved to Marshalltown and graduated from MHS in 1979. He has worked for UPS since 1981 and has been with us for three years and loves his job and the families we serve. He has two children, Ashley 27 years old, and is a Dr. of pharmacy at Hy-Vee and married recently to Dr. Jon Nehman, whom is also a pharmacist, and a 25 year old son, Alex, who is a personal trainer for three gyms in Cedar Rapids. Steve also has an Akita dog, Sophie, who helps him relax.
Nancy Johnston Ginapp is a long-time Marshalltown educator, who has worked both as a counselor for the Marshalltown School District and as an instructor at MCC and Buena Vista-Marshalltown Center. Born in Forest City, she moved with her parents to Belmond where they owned and operated funeral homes in Belmond and Klemme, along with a furniture store. Working part-time at the Mitchell Funeral Home in retirement has been like coming home and she so enjoys helping again with families. Nancy and her husband, Ron, have three children, Nick, Stacey, and Brad. Their seven grandchildren are very precious to them.
Sam Dixon joined the Mitchell Family Funeral Home family in 2015 as support staff. Sam was born in 1999 to Mark and Tonya Dixon in Ames, Iowa and has one sister, Peyton. He grew up outside of Laurel, Iowa and graduated from East Marshall in 2017. Sam presently attends DMACC and hopes to transfer to Iowa State for a degree in Criminal Justice. In Sam’s spare time he enjoys hunting and fishing and helps with Boys Scouts, as he is an Eagle Scout, as well as volunteers with Ducks Unlimited.
Al Frank and his wife, Tricia, moved to Conrad in early 2019. Retiring from over 40 years of pastoral ministry, they wanted to be closer to family. He grew up in a Nazarene parsonage and is an alumni of Point Loma Nazarene College. Al was ordained in the Church of the Nazarene, ending his ministry the last 14 years pastoring in the Brethren in Christ Church. His humor and compassion endears him to those he ministers to. He is a servant leader who enjoys working with people and counts it a privilege to be part of the Mitchell Family Funeral Home. Al & Tricia have three sons, daughter-in-laws, 8 grandchildren, and 2 great-grandchildren.