Waneta Arlene Button

Waneta (Boren) Button, at the age of 95, passed peacefully and met her Savior on Sunday, October 20, 2024. She was being cared for at Harmony Marshalltown (formerly Grandview Heights), and Suncrest Hospice. Family members were present as she was promoted to her heavenly home.

Funeral services for Waneta will be held on Saturday, November 2, 2024 at 10:30 a.m. at the Mitchell Family Funeral Home in Marshalltown. Visitation will be on Friday, November 1, 2024 from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. also at the funeral home.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be given in Waneta's memory to any of the following:

GARBC/Regular Baptist Ministries, PO Box 7321, Carol Stream, IL 60197-7321

Continental Baptist Missions, 11650 Northland Dr. NE, Rockford, MI 49341

Suncrest Hospice, 5959 Valley View Dr. Suite 100, West Des Moines, IA 50266

For more information or to send a condolence, please visit www.mitchellfh.com or call 641-844-1234. Mitchell Family Funeral Home is caring for Waneta and her family.

Waneta was born on November 8, 1928, to Emery and Mabel Boren in Grundy Center, Iowa. She grew up with seven siblings in Grundy Center where her father owned and operated the Grundy Café, a well-known restaurant on Main Street. Waneta accepted Christ as her personal Savior at the age of 10 and was the living testament of a life changed by the love and grace of God. She attended school in Grundy Center and graduated Salutatorian of her high school class. She was introduced via a “blind date” to Dean Button, who was raised in the nearby Ivester Community. Waneta attended Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois for a short time, while continuing to date Dean, and they were married on July 29, 1947. After living in rural Eldora for some time, they moved their family, which included four young children at that time, to Omaha, Nebraska, where Dean attended Omaha Baptist Bible Institute/College, and where Waneta also took several classes. She gave priority to the roles of wife and mother, but also worked periodically outside the home when needed. Following Dean’s graduation from Bible college, the family moved to Pocahontas, Iowa, and Waneta was instrumental as the supportive wife of Dean as he served as Pastor of a church there. Eventually they were called to serve as Missionary Church Builders with Continental Baptist Missions, and Waneta helped serve in whatever capacity needed, whether it be cooking and serving meals for the workers or helping with some of the actual physical jobs of the building projects. She loved children, and wherever God placed her and her family, she used her time and talents teaching Sunday school, helping direct or counsel at Bible camps, and even holding children’s Joy Clubs and Good News Clubs in their home. She was always ready to help with childcare, and was involved with PTA and other school activities her children were in. Through the years, her heart and home were always open to others, and on several occasions, friends of the family needing a place to live were welcomed to stay in the home for however long they needed. She served faithfully alongside Dean wherever God led them, and they have had a lasting impact on many people across the span of many years and states. Together they have been their family’s biggest prayer warriors, leaving a legacy of faith for generations.

Waneta was preceded in death by Dean, her husband of 76 years; her parents; her brothers Harry, Robert (Bob) and Donald (Don); her sisters, Marjorie (DeLange), Rose (Jacquis) and Darlene (Kruger); and a half-brother, Vance Boren. She is survived by her sister Priscilla (Jim) Frier; sister-in-law, Donna Boren; her five children, Richard (Kathy) Button, Linda Bailey, Carol (Lanny) DeWitt, Dan (Mary) Button, and Doug (Vicki) Button; two ‘bonus kids’ Deb and Mike Culp; 14 grandchildren and their spouses; 41 great-grandchildren, some of whom have spouses; three great-great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.

1 Corinthians 15:58; Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

-obituary lovingly written by the family