Leona Maryann Kauffman

Leona M. Kauffman, 85, of Marshalltown, Iowa, passed away Sunday, November 24, 2024 peacefully at home.

Services for Leona will take place on Saturday, December 14, at 10:30 A.M. at Mitchell Family Funeral Home. She will be laid to rest at Riverside Cemetery. A visitation will be held on Friday, December 13 from 5:00 to 7:00 P.M. at Mitchell Family Funeral Home. Memorials may be directed to the family. For questions or condolences, please visit www.mitchellfh.com or call 641-844-1234.

Born Leona Maryann Jackson on July 9, 1939 in Grand Junction, CO, she was the daughter of Willis David and Elsie “Lucille” (Terpening) Jackson. She went to school in Grand Junction before moving to Kingman, Arizona. Leona met the love of her life, Ronald Kauffman, and the couple was married March 9, 1957 in Las Vegas, NV. They lived in several places in Iowa and Illinois before moving to Marshalltown in 1976. In 2000, she and Ronald moved to Bella Vista, AR, where they spent the first 17 years of their retirement. They returned to Marshalltown in 2017 to be closer to family.

Leona and Ronald were blessed with the “best seven kids in the world.” Leona worked several jobs over the years, but was a true caretaker at heart. She loved children, and was “mom” to many (her own children, their friends, her grandchildren – anyone that wanted a good home-cooked meal or a place to feel at home). In her free time, Leona enjoyed playing card games, sewing, and watching scary movies and westerns. Leona also loved wind chimes, roller coasters, and all animals, especially cardinals and chickens.

Left to cherish her memory is her beloved husband of 67 years, Ronald; their seven children: Kathy (Rick) Smith of Marshalltown, Karan (Doug) Scovill-Hammer of Newton, Kelly (Greg) Fiscus of Bettendorf, Kandi (Ron) Slocum of Marshalltown, Raymond (Connie) Kauffman of Marshalltown, Ronnie (Linda) Kauffman of Marshalltown and Karla (Jeff) Dostal of Marion; sixteen grandchildren and fifteen great-grandchildren; three sisters: Sarah Kay of Panquitch, UT, Wilma Conwell-Weeks and Mille Middleton, both of Grand Junction, CO and numerous nieces and nephews.

In eternal life, Leona is reunited with her parents and two sisters: Dorothy, Virginia Katherine, and Sylvia in infancy.